Blaze
by cappucinokitten22
Summary: With a dead mother and an alcoholic sex offender for a father, Kiara Blaze's life was a nightmare before she burned down her house and found she was a mutant and fell in love with a certain blue-furred teleporter.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men. **

**1**

**Fourteen-year-old Kiara Blaze lay on her bed dressed only in shorts and a halter top. Her long, black hair clung to her pale, sweaty skin and her dark eyes were with filled pain. She was hot; much too hot and she could feel the fire within her burning stronger as her father continued to approached.**

**Finally, Kiara's father was standing right next to her and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. The fire burned stronger and she dug her fingernails into the fabric of her blanket, whimpering quietly.**

"**What's the matter, baby?" Kiara's father said as he knelt down beside her. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Don't you love me?" **

"**Screw you!" Kiara spat at him. **

"**How dare you speak to me that way!" her father said. He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her roughly. "I am your father -- how dare you!" **

**Kiara scowled at him as he inched forward. She couldn't let this go on anymore. It hurt too much. Even after all this years, it still hurt so much and she hated him for it. He had made her sickening, disgusting. He had sullied her.**

**But what could Kiara do to stop him? Scream?**

**There was no one around to hear her. **

**Kiara gasped as her father yanked her hair and shoved her down roughly. **

"**Remember, sweetie," he said as he straddled her. "Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you very, very much."**

"**No," Kiara whispered as he leaned towards her. "No, you don't."**

**Her father ignored her and pressed his lips to her neck. **

"**NO, YOU DON'T --" Kiara tried to scream, but her words were cut off by the stream of flames that escaped her lips instead. **

**Charles Xavier's voice was loud and urgent as it sounded over the intercom system at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters: **

"**X-Men, report to the jet hanger immediately." **

**Five minutes later, Wolverine, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Storm, Rogue, Cyclops, Beast, and Jean all met him by the Blackbird. Professor Xavier was glad to see that they were already wide awake and dressed in their uniforms, despite the lateness of the hour.**

"**What's going on, Chuck?" Wolverine asked, leaning against the jet.**

"**Cerebro has just picked up the presence of a young mutant girl by the name of Kiara Blaze," Professor Xavier explained. "Her powers have only just begun to manifest and she has no control over them, so she is extremely dangerous."**

"**Why, what are her powers?" Cyclops asked.**

"**As far as I can tell," Professor Xavier said, "Kiara is a pyro and when she loses control of her emotions, her powers take over. But there's something else as well; something hidden and much more powerful."**

"**Yes," Beast said, nodding. "If that's the case, she is indeed a dangerous girl."**

"**Well, then, let's go get her," Wolverine said, lowering the entrance ramp of the jet, "before she causes some real trouble." **

"**What are our coordinates?" Cyclops said as they all began to board the Blackbird. **

"**Jameson, California," Professor Xavier told him. "It's a small, rural town, but she'll be **

**easy enough to find."**

"**How so?" Storm said as Cyclops programmed the coordinates and set the autopilot. **

"**Just look for the fire," Professor Xavier said simply. He turned to face Rogue, who had just taken her seat. "Rogue, when we find Kiara I want you to siphon her powers."**

"**Got it," Rogue said, nodding.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men

2

How Kiara had managed to escape the fire with her father's lifeless body unscathed, she didn't know nor did she care. She threw her father's body on the ground and stared at it. She wasn't sure how he had died. He could have died the ceiling collapsed on him when tried to run out of her room or he could have died from smoke inhalation. Kiara didn't care, but she couldn't bring herself to leave him there to burn. No matter how much she hated him.

Kiara threw her dead father one last glance and the flames flared up inside of her. Then she took off running. She ran east towards the field behind her house. Her bare feet pounded against the grass and she knew she had to run faster, but not because she thought people would come soon. Kiara and her father lived in the country on the very outskirts of Jameson, California. Their nearest neighbor lived five miles south.

No, Kiara had to run faster because the clouds were closing in her. It was going to rain soon and she had to find shelter before the drops began to fall.

"Look, there," Nightcrawler cried, pointing out the window. "A house fire."

"Yes," Professor Xavier said as the jet touched down several hundred yards away from the burning house. "That is Kiara's house. Her father is there."

"Should go in after him?" Cyclops asked, undoing his seatbelt.

"No," Professor Xavier said. "He died just moments ago. We'll have to let the authorities handle that. Go and find Kiara; she's nearby."

Once outside of the Blackbird, the X-Men quickly split up into teams of twos and threes.

Nightcrawler and Rogue followed Wolverine through the enormous field behind the Blaze house.

Wolverine breathed in deeply, sniffing the air. "She went this way," he said, and they changed course and headed northeast-ward.

"I wonder what happened that made her set her house on fire," Rogue said quietly.

"Well, she has no control over her powers," Wolverine reminded her. "So it could have been anything."

"The professor will be to figure it out," Nightcrawler said as lightening flashed overhead. "Right?"

"Probably," Wolverine said, "unless this kid's got some sort of telepathic ability that we don't know about."

"Well, the professor did say that she had some sort of hidden power, right?" Nightcrawler said, remembering something Professor Xavier had said back at the Institute in the jet hanger.

A clap of thunder sounded and lightening flashed across the sky once again. Then the rain began to fall and an earsplitting scream pierced the air.

"That was her -- it had to be," Wolverine said as he and Rogue grabbed onto Nightcrawler.

They disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Nightcrawler teleported them to the source of the noise. Cyclops and Jean had arrived before them and the others turned up within seconds. They stared down at the ground in horror.

Kiara Blaze lay on the ground, writhing and screaming. Smoke came off of her bare skin in miniature mushroom clouds and poured from her lips.

"What's wrong with her?" Jean asked.

"Storm, cut the rain," Professor Xavier shouted over the boom of thunder.

Storm looked at the sky and her eyes rolled into the back of her, so that only the whites of them were visible. The clouds immediately dispersed and the storm was minimized so that the rain was falling only on the Blazes' burning home, which had already collapsed. A moment passed, and Kiara stopped screaming, but still she lay on the ground writhing as though she were having a seizure of some sort.

Professor Xavier nodded at Rogue. She pulled one, brown glove off and Beast and Wolverine knelt down beside Kiara so they could restrain her. Rogue knelt down and touched Kiara's forehead.

Everyone watched silently as Rogue's body went suddenly rigid. Kiara's body went limp then Rogue jerked away from her and a thin stream of flames escaped her lips.

"God damn it, that hurt," Rogue muttered quietly.

"Are you alright?" Shadowcat asked her.

Rogue nodded silently as Beast began to examine Kiara.

"How is she?" Professor Xavier asked after a moment of silence. "Will she be alright?"

"She has a pulse," Beast told him, "but I can't treat her properly here. We need to get her back to the Institute in order for me to do that."

"But what's wrong with her?" Jean asked. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure," Beast said, shaking his head. "I think it may have been the rain that caused this to happen --"

"The rain?" Nightcrawler said. "So this girl can be killed by water?"

"I don't know about killed, but it does seem that water can cause her a great deal of physical pain," Beast said, looking at him. "That, however, is just a theory. I won't know for sure until I've had the chance to examine her properly at the Institute."

"We should get her there, then," Professor Xavier said. "And soon."

"I'll get her back to the Blackbird," Nightcrawler said at once.

He walked over to Kiara, took her in his arms, and they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Nightcrawler carried Kiara up the jet's entrance ramp and set her down in the first seat he saw. He knelt down to do up her seatbelt, but then he looked up when he heard her whimper quietly.

Kiara stared at the dark-haired, blue-furred boy in front of her through misty eyes. She felt exhausted and was too tired to think, but she knew right away that he was a mutant. Normally, she would have been afraid, but not now. Right now, she was too tired to care.

"Who --?" Kiara asked. "Who are you?"

Nightcrawler stared at her. Her clothes were completely soaked through, her pale skin was covered with mud, and there were ashes in her dark hair. But his gaze lingered longest on her eyes. They were not the deep shade of dark brown that he had expected them to be. Instead, they a startlingly bright shade of red.

"Kurt," Nightcrawler said at last. "Kurt Wagner."

"Kurt Wagner," Kiara repeated breathlessly as her eyes slid shut.

It did not take Nightcrawler long to realize that she had fallen asleep. He did up her seatbelt. Then he stood and stared at her for a long time.

"Hey, you okay?"

Nightcrawler turned to see Cyclops and the others coming up the jet's entrance ramp.

"Yes," Nightcrawler said. "It's just that her eyes --" he nodded at Kiara " -- they're bright red now."

"Wait," Shadowcat said. "Do you mean that they've, like, changed color?"

"That is exactly what he means," Professor Xavier said, approaching Kiara. "It seems that Kiara is undergoing a physical mutation, and we can only guess how that will affect her."

"All the more reason to get her back to the Institute," Beast said.

The others nodded and took their seats. Nightcrawler took the seat closest to Kiara.

The flight back to the Institute was a long one. The air was thick with worry and the tension never subsided.

Kiara slept restlessly. Whenever the X-Men heard her talking or whimpering in her sleep, they were at her side immediately, but Nightcrawler was always the first one there. He spent most of the flight watching her. Beast spent the entire flight monitoring Kiara's pulse closely.

It sped up considerably whenever she began talking or whimpering in her sleep, and it immediately became clear that she was having nightmares. So the others spent most of the flight trying to decipher whatever it was she said as Professor Xavier refused to intrude her mind when they had no idea how much damage the rain had caused her.

It was a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : I don't own the X-Men.

3

Professor Xavier met Beast in the infirmary ward where they were keeping Kiara early the next morning.

"How is she?" Professor Xavier asked.

"Well, her appearance has changed some more," Beast said, smiling as they approached Kiara. "And we were right about the water being the source of her pain. It seems to have shorted out her powers as well."

"What are her powers?" Professor Xavier said, looking at him.

"Well, wounds along her esophagus indicate that she is a fire-breather," Beast said. "But she's fine otherwise. Her pulse has evened out considerably and it appears that she was in no immediate danger last night; just in a great deal of pain."

When they reached the foot of Kiara's bed, Professor Xavier stared at her, shocked. By now, her long black hair was shot through with streaks of blood red and bright yellow. Her cheeks and also her palms were tinged bright red as were the soles of her feet.

"I see," Professor Xavier said.

"There is one thing that concerns me, however," Beast said, his smile fading as the professor looked up at him. "She seems to have developed a growth of some sort. I hope it isn't a tumor."

Beast turned Kiara over onto her side and pulled up her dressing gown so that her back was visible. Sure enough, in the very center of her back, running along her spine, there was a large growth, which was covered in what appeared to be black scales.

Then smoke filled the room and Kurt appeared.

"Professor," Kurt said. "There's something you need to see."

He did a double take when he saw Kiara. Then he grabbed Beast and Professor Xavier by the arm. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, then reappeared in the living room where the other X-Men were gathered, watching a news report.

"What's going on?" Professor Xavier demanded.

"Kiara made the news," Logan said without looking up at him.

Beast grabbed the remote off the end table and turned up the volume on the television. A male news reporter with a bad comb over appeared and then they were all silent.

A picture of the charred ruins, which had once been Kiara's home flashed across the screen.

"The damage to the home was substantial and no repairs have been scheduled," the reporter said as he appeared on screen once again. "It appears that only one member of the Blaze family has survived."

A picture of Kiara flashed across the screen.

"Her name is Kiara Blaze," the reporter continued. "She was the only daughter of registered sex-offender Arnold Blaze --"

There much shocked muttering at this statement.

"Records show that the girl's mother Samantha Blaze died of cancer nearly ten years ago and she currently has no living family," the reporter went on. "How Kiara managed to stay out of the foster system after her mother's death is beyond all of us. Kiara's body has yet to be found. Authorities suspect that she escaped the fire and fled shortly after her father's death. The cause of the fire is remains undetermined. MRD agents have been called in to check for signs of mutant involvement…."

"Oh, my god," Jean said quietly.

"I'm going to need some time alone with Kiara," Professor Xavier said. Then he left.

"That poor girl," Kitty said. "What if her father --?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"If he did," Logan said, scowling, "then he should consider himself lucky that he's already dead."

Kurt stood beside the couch. He and many of the other X-Men and X-Men-in-training had suffered some sort of abuse or ridicule during their childhood, but none of them liked to talk about it. And he knew that none of them would have liked to have something so personal announced to the world, but that's what had happened to Kiara.

Everyone knew her business now. She had no secrets now -- none. And the thought of her father made Kurt sick in away he could only associate with the people who tortured him and his family back in Germany.

He teleported to the infirmary and sat down by the door to Kiara's room, waiting.

Hours later, Beast stood beside Professor Xavier at the foot of Kiara's bed, while she slept.

"Well?" Beast said.

"Violently and repeatedly," Professor Xavier said sadly. "When she wakes up, I'm going to talk to her about consoling and memory suppression. After she settles in, of course."

"I'm sorry I didn't bother to check for these things earlier," Beast said, shaking his head.

"It's alright," Professor Xavier said. "You didn't know." He sighed.

They were both silent for a moment. Then they turned and left the room. Kurt and several of the others were out in the hall, waiting, hoping.

"So what's the story?" Logan asked, getting right to the point.

"It is as we feared," Professor Xavier told all of them.

"You don't think she could be pregnant, do you?" Jean said, putting her hand on Scott's shoulder as he huffed angrily.

"No, she isn't," Professor Xavier assured them. "But I am going to ask all of you to refrain from speaking about this with her, unless she brings it up first."

"Yes, we understand," Jean said, nodding.

"Has she woken up yet?" Kurt asked from his spot on the floor.

"No," Professor Xavier said, looking at him. "But you may see her if you wish. In fact, it may be a good idea for all of you to see her. I don't want any of you to be shocked by her change in appearance and say something that you'll regret once she wakes up."

"No more than two at a time," Beast said quickly.

Kurt stood up and walked past Beast and the professor silently. Once inside of Kiara's room, he froze. It was the second time he had seen her today, but he was still so shocked. She looked so different than from when they had first found her yesterday. And it wasn't just her hair or face. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he saw them:

The dark shadows under her eyes, the frown lines, and the fearful expression, which never left her face.

"Oh, wow! I, like, totally love her hair."

Kurt looked up to see Kitty phasing through the wall. She grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Kiara's bed.

"Not so loud, Kitty," Kurt said, grabbing his own chair. "You'll wake her."

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so," Kitty said. "She's been asleep for almost twenty-four hours."

Kurt frowned as an idea occurred to him. "What if she doesn't wake up? What if she's in some sort of coma?"

"Of course she's going to wake up," Kitty said, looking at him. "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know," Kurt said, pressing his palms against his eyes. "I guess I'm just worried about her."

"We're all worried about her, Kurt," Kitty reminded him. "But Beast said she's going to fine. So just, like, calm down, okay?"

Kurt sighed and nodded.

They were both quiet for a moment. Then Kitty said, "Hey, how did you know that her eyes had changed color yesterday?"

"Oh, that," Kurt said. "Kiara woke up after I brought her back to the Blackbird yesterday --"

"Wait," Kitty said. "She woke up and you didn't tell us -- what happened?"

"She asked me what my name was and then she passed out again about five seconds later," Kurt said, looking at Kiara. "She was so exhausted, she wasn't even afraid of me…" His voice trailed off.

"Afraid of you?" Kitty said with raised eyebrows. "Why would she be afraid of you?"

"Hello, have you seen me?" Kurt said, pressing one hand against his chest. "I'm not exactly normal-looking. Most people are terrified of me."

"That's because they don't know you, Kurt," Kitty said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Then she smiled. "Besides, Kiara isn't exactly normal-looking either."

They both looked at Kiara.

"That's true," Kurt said. "She's still kind of pretty, though."

"She's totally pretty," Kitty agreed with him. "And I really do, like, love her hair. It's, like, all punk-rock. It looks good on her."

"I wonder what she's going to look like once her body has fully mutated," Kurt said thoughtfully.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer : I do not own the X-Men

4

Kitty and Kurt lay on the floor of Kurt's bedroom with the giant piece of white poster board between them. They were making a "Welcome" card for Kiara.

"I don't know about this, Kurt," Kitty said, grabbing a box of markers. "I mean, we don't even know if Kiara is going to stay."

"Well, where else is she going to go?" Kurt said, picking a black marker up off of the floor. "You heard what the news the report said. She doesn't have any surviving relatives."

"Yeah, that's true," Kitty said.

She chewed thoughtfully on a marker cap for a moment. "You know what," she said, smiling. "We should, like, draw so that it looks like the words are on fire."

"Why should we do that?" Kurt asked, frowning at her.

"She's a pyro," Kitty reminded him. "Duh."

"Yeah but her house just burned down," Kurt said. "I don't think she's going to want to think about fire for a while."

"Yeah," Kitty sighed. "You're probably right."

They doodled on the poster board quietly for a moment.

"Hey, Kurt," Kitty said. "What's Kiara like?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Kurt asked her.

"You're the only one of us who has actually spoken to her," Kitty said, waving her marker at him.

"Yeah, for five seconds," Kurt protested. "How am I supposed to get know someone in five seconds?"

"Ever hear of speed dating?" Kitty said, smiling.

Kurt sighed. "Look, she was tired and confused. That's all I know."

"All right," Kitty said. "What do you think she's going to be like when she wakes up?"

"Horrified, probably," Kurt said truthfully.

"Horrified?" Kitty said, looking up at him.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I mean, her house just burned down, she was almost killed by _rain _of all things, and when she wakes up, what is she going to find? A room full of strangers -- mutant strangers."

"Yeah, I see your point," Kitty said, frowning.

"And that's exactly why we're making this card," Kurt said, smiling. "To help make Kiara feel more comfortable."

"Right," Kitty said, smiling.

The X-Men -- all of them -- stood in the kitchen.

"Anyone know why we're here?" Logan said. "These kids got training to do." He gestured to a group of younger students.

"All I know is that it has something to with Kiara," Ororo told him.

"Kiara?" Logan said with raised eyebrows. "What about her?"

The room filled with smoke as Kurt and Kitty appeared, carrying a large piece of poster board and a box of pens.

"All right, everyone," Kurt said, smiling. "Kitty and I have made this card for Kiara and we would like all of you to sign it."

"Of course, we'll sign it," Jean said, reaching for a pen.

"That's what this is about?" Logan said, scowling. "A card?"

"Yeah," Kitty told him. "To welcome Kiara to the Institute."

"So couldn't this have waited until after we were finished with our Danger Room session?" Logan demanded.

"Logan," Kurt said. "Just think about all of the things that Kiara has been through and she's bound to be upset when she wakes up. We're only trying to make her happy."

Logan was silent for a moment. Then he snatched the box of pens out of Kitty's hands and scribbled his name on the bottom of the card.

Professor Xavier sat out on his balcony silently. It was late. Past midnight. But he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Kiara.

Her past was bound to complicate her training and he was worried about her. Everyone was. Even the younger students who weren't supposed to know about her past knew. Thanks to that news report.

The professor sighed and shook his head. He turned his wheelchair around and wheeled himself up to his bed. He had to sleep.

That's when he heard the screaming.

Kiara sat on her bed in the infirmary, screaming frantically as Beast approached her. She snatched a silver tray off of a nearby medical cart and held up like a shield.

"Stay away from me," Kiara said. "You -- you ape!"

"Kiara, please calm down," Beast said, holding up his hands cautiously, trying to show her that he was unarmed. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Who the hell are you?!" Kiara shrieked at him, the fire suddenly flaring up inside of her, causing her to cringe.

"Are you alright?" Beast asked her.

"Who are you?!" Kiara demanded again.

"He is Hank McCoy," a voice said. "And I am Professor Charles Xavier."

Kiara turned to see the professor in the doorway and she was relieved to see that he looked normal. He didn't look like a giant blue ape.

"What do you want you from me?" Kiara asked in a shaky voice. "Am I in trouble?" Tears began to stream down her cheeks, leaving behind tiny trails of smoke. It stung but she didn't care. She was too scared to care.

"No, of course not," Professor Xavier assured her. "And I would like nothing more than to welcome you to my school."

"School?" Kiara said. "Is that where I am? A school? What the hell kind of school is this?!"

"This is a school for mutants," Professor Xavier said, smiling.

"Mutants?" Kiara said. "Why am I at a-a school for --?" She broke off as she suddenly remembered what had happened back in Jameson. She threw her make-shift shield to the ground.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean for my dad to die. He just….I couldn't let him. I couldn't…."

"No one blames you for what happened to your father, Kiara," Professor Xavier assured her, wheeling himself closer to her.

"You don't?" Kiara said, looking up at him.

"Of course not, Kiara," Beast said. "We know it wasn't your fault." He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she flinched away from him.

"Please, please," Kiara said. "Please, don't touch me."

"Of course," Beast said apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Oh," Kiara moaned quietly. "Where is that boy? The one from the other day?"

"What boy?" Beast asked her.

"The blue boy," Kiara said, wiping tears out of her eyes as the fire began to falter. "He told me his name. He said it was Kurt something. Kurt Wagner, I think."

"You've met Kurt?" Beast said with raised eyebrows.

"No, not really," Kiara admitted. "He just told me his name and then I -- I think I passed out or fell asleep or something. But he seemed nice."

Professor Xavier nodded at Beast who immediately left the room to go find Kurt.

"Now, Kiara," Professor Xavier said. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Because I set my house on fire and killed my father?" Kiara guessed.

"No, Kiara, no," Professor Xavier said, shaking his head. "Neither of those things were your fault."

"Then why am I here?" Kiara asked him.

"You are here because you have a gift," Professor Xavier told her, smiling.

"A gift?" Kiara said. "I don't understand. What gift -- what is my gift?"

"Do you remember what happened the day of the fire, Kiara?" Professor Xavier asked her.

"I set my house on fire," Kiara said, nodding.

"How, Kiara?" Professor Xavier asked. "How did you set your house on fire? Where did the fire come from?"

Kiara clutched her throat. "Here," she whispered. "It came from here."

"Exactly," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "You are a mutant, Kiara. A pyro."

"A pyro?" Kiara repeated.

"You breathe fire," Professor Xavier explained. "Fire is your element so that makes you a pyro."

"Are there others here, like me?" Kiara asked. "Pyros, I mean?"

"Indeed there are," Professor Xavier said. "And if you should choose to stay here, then you will get to know them quite well."

"If I choose to stay," Kiara repeated.

Then the door of the room burst open. Kiara looked up to see Kurt standing beside Beast in his pajamas.

Kiara locked eyes with Kurt for a moment. Then her eyes traveled up and down his body, taking in the details she had already missed. His tail and his bright, golden eyes.

"You," she whispered. "You're Kurt."

"Yes, I am," Kurt said as he approached her. "You remembered?"

"I wasn't quite sure if you were really blue," Kiara said, laughing weakly, "but yes, I remembered."

"Oh, um, yes," Kurt said, frowning. "I can turn on my image inducer if you like."

"No, no," Kiara said quickly, even though she wasn't quite sure what an image inducer was. "You aren't that scary. He -- he startled me." She gestured to Beast.

"Understandable," Beast said quietly.

"I'm glad you aren't afraid," Kurt said, smiling. He grabbed a chair and pulled next to Kiara's bed and sat down.

"So," Kiara said. "This is really a school for mutants and you're really a student here?"

"Yes," Kurt told her. "You should stay."

"Stay," Kiara said. "What happens if I stay?"

"If you stay," Professor Xavier said, "we begin your training."

Kiara looked at him. "Training?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said. "So that you can learn how to control your powers. So you can learn how to use your powers to help people."

"You would become an X-Man," Kurt said.

"What's an X-Man?" Kiara said, looking at him.

"_We_ are X-Men, Kiara," Professor Xavier said. "We protect people from mutants who do not share our ideals."

"What ideals?" Kiara said without looking away from Kurt.

"We believe that humans and mutants can live side by side in harmony," Professor Xavier said. He sighed. "Not everyone agrees with us."

The room fell silent as Kiara took that in. She lay down on her side and curled up into a ball. If she stayed, she would fight. She would protect people. If she didn't stay….Then what?

"Stay, Kiara," Kurt pleaded with her. "You will be safe here. And happy."

Kiara looked away from his face and began to follow the movement of his tail with her eyes. "If I stay," she said, "you can help me learn how to control my powers?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, nodding.

"Then I'll stay," Kiara whispered. She looked up at Kurt.

He wasn't smiling. Neither was she.

"Well, then," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "We have much to discuss, but first I think it would be a good idea for you to get acquainted with your new self."

This got Kiara's attention. "My new self?" she said, sitting up slowly.

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, looking at Beast. "I believe you have a mirror handy?"

"Yes, of course," Beast said. He walked to a nearby drawer and began rummaging through it.

"What are they talking about?" Kiara demanded, looking at Kurt.

"Now, look," Kurt said, nervously. "Try not to react badly. It looks nice on you."

"What does?" Kiara asked.

"Here you are," Beast said, handing a mirror to her and the fire began to flare up inside her.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men

5

Kiara stared at her reflection in disbelief. "Oh, my god," she muttered, running her hands through her hair. "Oh, my god."

"Kiara," Kurt said cautiously. "Are you alright?"

Kiara ignored him and tucked her hair behind her ears. Then she stopped and turned her head sideways. The sides and, as far as she could tell, the back of her neck were black.

"Why is my neck black?" Kiara said.

"Oh, you must have grown some more scales," Beast said, walking up to her. "Come here, please."

He reached out to touch her, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

"Kiara, please," Kurt said shocked. "Beast is a doctor. He won't hurt you, I swear."

Kiara looked up at him with renewed tears in her eyes and the flames within her began to falter. "Scales," she said. "I have scales."

"It is quite shocking, I know," Beast said, smiling, "to wake up one morning and find that your appearance has changed completely. To realize that you no longer look human. That's what happened to me."

"Really?" Kiara said, looking up at him and she was so distracted that she forgot to cringe when he reached out to touch her.

Kurt smiled, relieved.

"Hold still, please," Beast said, piling Kiara's hair on top of her head so that he could examine her neck.

"Is that what happened to you?" Kiara asked Kurt, trying her hardest to hold still.

"Uh, _nein_," Kurt said, frowning. "I was born this way."

"Sorry," Kiara said, realizing that she had made him uncomfortable.

"It's alright," Kurt said, but she could tell that it wasn't.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said quickly. "All mutants develop differently."

"Yes," Beast said, letting Kiara's hair down. "In fact, you seem to be developing quite rapidly. As a mutant, that is."

"Is that a bad thing?" Kurt asked him.

"No," Beast assured him. "That is actually a good thing because, from what I can tell, this whole process should be over in about a day or two. Then we can start her training."

"Excellent," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "That's more than enough time to get everything ready."

"Everything?" Kiara said. "Like what?"

"Well, a cover story for the fire, obviously," Professor Xavier said. "School and an image inducer --"

"Wait," Kiara said. "What is an image inducer and I thought I was going to school here."

"We live and train here," Kurt explained, "but we go to school in Bayville and this is an image inducer." He stood up and pushed a button on his wristwatch, and then he suddenly looked normal:

Kiara stared at him. His skin was pale, he had brown eyes, and his tail was gone. He looked like a regular, _human _teenager.

"Why do I need one of those?" Kiara asked, looking away from Kurt.

"Why do you think?" Kurt said, laughing. "You have black scales. You need an image iducer so that you can go out in public, have fun, have a life. A normal one, sort of."

"I don't want it," Kiara said firmly.

"Want what?" Kurt said, his smile fading.

Kiara turned to face the professor. "In a few days," she said, "I'm going to be completely covered in ugly, black scales and god knows what else, and I don't care. I don't want one of those image inducer things because my father thought I was pretty and you wouldn't believe what that started."

The room was quiet for a long time.

"We will discuss this is in the morning, Kiara," Professor Xavier said at last. "But for now I think it is time for us all to go back to bed."

"I'm not tired," Kiara told him.

"Well, in that case," Beast said, "why don't you just come along with me for some X-rays. I am quite curious about that growth on your back."

"Good night, Kurt," Kiara said as Beast helped her down off of the bed.

"Good night, Kiara," Kurt said as the professor guided him out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

6

The next morning, Kurt was summoned to the professor's study.

"Good morning, Professor," Kurt greeted him. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Professor Xavier said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "I wanted to speak to you about your friend Kiara."

"Oh," Kurt said, sitting down. "Kiara…"

His encounter with her was still fresh in his mind like a bad dream. The sound of her voice, the look on her face when he had entered the room accompanied by Beast, and her flat-out refusal to wear the image inducer.

Because of her father.

Kiara was worse than Kurt had expected her to be. He had been able to piece her together as soon as he'd laid eyes on her. She was afraid and untrusting of almost everyone she met, and there was nothing they could do to change that.

Kiara's father had destroyed her.

"Kurt," Professor Xavier said. "I want you to understand that I want Kiara to stay here, but you know that she can't if she refuses to comply with the rules."

"This is about the image inducer, isn't it?" Kurt guessed.

"I can't have her endangering the privacy of the other students," Professor Xavier said. "And by their privacy, I mean their lives. Things are hard enough for them as it is and you know as well as I do what will happen if the public finds out that they're mutants."

Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it, and nodded instead. The professor was right, he did know what would happen and they couldn't let one person's fear risk everyone's safety. That would be it wrong.

"That is why I need your help," Professor Xavier said, smiling.

"You're kidding, right?" Kurt said, shocked. "What can I do?"

"Kiara trusts you, Kurt," Professor Xavier told him, "and she is beyond consoling. If I send her away from here, people will take advantage of her fear and teach her to use her powers for wrong and she will do it."

"_Nein_," Kurt said, shaking his head because he could already guess what the professor was thinking. "She would fight back."

"Kiara knows her limits, Kurt," Professor Xavier said gravely. "She knows she can be overpowered and Magneto and Mystique are more than capable of doing so. That is why we are left with only one option."

"Which is?" Kurt asked.

"Memory suppression," Professor Xavier said. "It is the best thing for her at this point, but Kiara is going to need a little convincing."

Kiara lay in her bed in the infirmary. From where she was, she could see Beast still trying to make sense of the X-rays they had taken last night. She had lost interest in them hours ago because to her bones were bones, and she really couldn't make sense of the pictures anyway.

Neither of them could.

Kiara sat up when she heard the door open. She had been expecting a visit from the professor after their talk last night, but she was surprised to see Kurt with him. She could tell that Kurt was surprised by her appearance, too.

By now, the scales covered all of Kiara's neck, back, and whatever parts of her face that weren't red, and the growth -- as Beast called it -- on her back had nearly doubled in size.

Kiara felt a very strong urge to hide under her covers as they approached her.

"Uh, Kiara," Kurt said, "we've come to talk to you about last night." He returned to the chair he had been sitting in earlier.

Kiara nodded silently.

Kurt looked at Professor Xavier, who nodded at him and gestured for him to continue.

"Kiara," Kurt said, looking back at her. "We know why you're afraid to wear the image inducer. We know why you don't trust people. We know what your father did to you."

Kiara looked away from him as the thought of her father made the fire flare up inside her. "How?"

"It's not your fault, Kiara," Kurt said, "and nothing like that would ever --"

"How do you know?!" Kiara demanded and he cringed at her tone.

Beast was immediately at her side with a sedative, but Professor Xavier shook his head and he retreated.

"There was a news report," Kurt said, "and they mentioned your father…" His voice trailed off.

Kiara nodded. She could piece the rest together. "Who else knows?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Everyone," Kurt said simply.

"Everyone," Kiara repeated. "All those strangers…"

"Nothing like that would ever happen to you here, though," Kurt said, finishing his previous thought.

"You can't prove that," Kiara said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't _let _something like that happen to you again," Kurt promised her. "Neither would the others."

"You can't prove that, either," Kiara told him.

Kurt looked away from her and sighed.

The professor was right. It was their only option.

"If you don't wear the image inducer," Kurt said, "then you can't stay."

"Why not?!" Kiara demanded, scowling at the professor.

"This is school for mutants, Kiara," Kurt said. "No one on the outside knows that. If you went out without the image inducer, people would figure it out. You would ruin everything."

"So what am I supposed to do?!" Kiara shot at him and she could feel the flames tearing at her throat. "Just get over it?!"

"What if the professor took away all of the bad memories you have about your father?" Kurt asked her.

Kiara stared at him for a moment, confused. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked him.

"Professor Xavier is a telepath," Kurt told her. "He can take away all of the bad memories you have about your father. With memory suppression."

The professor's voice sounded in her mind:

'It's true, Kiara. I can do it.'

Kiara looked from the professor to Kurt and back again. "If he took away all of the bad memories I have about my father," she said, her gaze finally settling on Kurt, "then I wouldn't remember my dad at all."

"And that would be a bad thing?" Kurt said, smiling weakly. "Think about it, Kiara -- you could trust people again. You could be happy, and you could be you. The real one. You wouldn't have to be afraid all the time and you could stay here. With me."

Kiara looked up at him and met his gaze. Then, despite everything -- Beast and the professor, the horrible black scales that were taking over her body, the fact that she very well might have a basketball-sized cancerous tumor growing on her back -- she was smiling. And laughing. Then Kurt was, too, because he knew what she was going to say.

"Do it," Kiara mouthed.

"What?" Kurt asked her.

"Do it, I said," Kiara said, and she had to clear her throat because she was laughing so hard. "Do it."

"Okay," Kurt said. "But what about after?"

"After?" Kiara said, starting to feel confused. "What do I need to know about after?"

"Well," Kurt said, "if he does it and you refuse to wear the image inducer, you still can't stay."

"Oh, alright," Kiara sighed. "I promise to wear the stupid thing." She offered her pinky to Kurt and burst out laughing when she realized that he only had three fingers.

"What?" Kurt asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

"I just _now _noticed that you only have three fingers," Kiara said, gesturing to their intertwined fingers.

"You seriously just _now _noticed that?" Kurt said, laughing.

"Yes," Kiara said, "but we can talk some more about how slow I am when this is all finished."

She cleared her throat and turned to the professor. "Professor Xavier," she said, "do it. Suppress my memories. Take away all of the bad memories I have about my father and when you're done, I promise --" she smiled at Kurt " -- that I'll wear the image inducer thing no matter what. So can I stay here. Please?"

"Of course, Kiara," Professor Xavier said, smiling. He leaned forward and pressed his fingers to her temples. "Now, then, close your eyes."

Kiara did as she was told and for what felt like a very long time, she felt nothing. Then suddenly, she felt as though her skull had been cracked open and she fell forward, unconscious.

"Will she be alright?" Kurt said after a moment of silence.

"She'll be just fine," Professor Xavier assured him. "Thank you, Kurt."

"I wonder what she's going to be like when she wakes up," Kurt said.

"Better, I hope," Professor Xavier said simply.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

7

The X-Men stood in the mansion's foyer, where the professor was addressing them:

"Kiara was exaggerating, of course, when she said she would have no memories of her father left. But most of her memories of the man have been suppressed and, as far as she knows, his 'absence' is merely work-related. No one is to tell her otherwise."

Kurt teleported back to his room and landed on his bed. He lay down and thought back to his last visit with Kiara. To when she had burst out laughing and agreed to the memory suppression.

It had been so strange to see her smile and hear her laugh, Kurt thought, because even though he knew it had been sincere, it had seemed so fake. When she laughed, she sounded like she was crying and her smile looked strained and awkward.

Was it possible that, before she had come to the Institute, Kiara had spent so much time being unhappy that happiness now distorted her features?

Kurt sighed. "Most of the memories have been suppressed," he muttered. He wished that Professor Xavier had suppressed the good memories of Kiara's father, too. They couldn't be good for her. In fact, they might make her want to grieve him.

Kurt shuddered at the idea of being asked to grieve a man like Kiara's father. He looked down at his hands and remembered how she had laughed when she had seen them. Not because she thought they looked funny, but because it had taken her so long to notice their abnormality.

Kiara had been laughing at herself.

Then Kurt remembered something else she had said:

"_We can talk some more about how slow I am when this is all finished_."

"Silly Kiara," Kurt said, smiling.

She wasn't slow. She was…What was she?

It didn't matter, Kurt decided. For now, he would just focus on making her happy. Maybe he would take Kitty to see her. He wondered if they would get along.

"Like knock, knock."

Kurt looked up to see Kitty phasing through his door. "Hey, Kurt," she greeted him. "Missed you at breakfast this morning." She threw an apple to him.

"Thanks," Kurt said, catching the apple.

"No problem," Kitty said, sitting on his bed. "So what are you, like, up to?"

"Just thinking," Kurt said through a mouthful of apple.

"About Kiara, right?" Kitty guessed.

Kurt sighed. There was no point in lying. Kitty knew him too well. She was his best friend, after all.

"I was just thinking about what things will be like when she wakes," Kurt said, throwing the apple core into a nearby trash bin.

"You aren't the only one," Kitty said. "Do you think she's going to be, like, completely different?"

"It wouldn't exactly be bad a thing if she is," Kurt said, his smile fading. "I mean, you should have seen her last night. She was so miserable -- crying and yelling."

"That does sound bad," Kitty said, frowning. "But don't worry. The professor took away all of the memories of her dad that were, like, hurting her. She'll be okay."

Kurt nodded silently. He didn't feel like voicing the fact that there was always a chance that Kiara would not be okay.

"Hey," Kitty said. "Why haven't you given her her card yet?"

Kurt looked at the piece of white poster board on the floor next to his bed. He picked it up and stared at it for a moment before handing it to Kitty. "I would have given it to her earlier," he said, "but I wasn't she sure if she was staying after what happened last night."

"Well," Kitty said, smiling, "let's go give it to her now."

"We can't go now," Kurt protested. "She's probably still asleep."

There was a knock on the door, then Beast poked his head inside the room. "Kiara just woke up, Kurt," he said. "She's asking for you."

"Now, look," Beast said as they reached the infirmary. "She's only been awake for about half an hour, but she's been really good so far. Not a single outburst yet, so please try not to upset her." He turned to Kitty.

She blushed and put her hands on her hips. "Why are you looking at me?" she demanded. "I'm a nice person."

"I'm not saying you would do it on purpose," Beast said apologetically. "I'm just saying you have to be careful. She hasn't met any of the others yet and I'm not sure how she's going to react to strangers right now."

"Don't worry," Kitty said. "I'll be careful." She wasn't sure what she had to be careful of, but she would try anyway.

"Alright then," Beast said, nodding, and he went into the room.

Kurt stood outside the door hesitantly. It had only been a few hours since he had last seen Kiara. He wondered how different she would be. He sighed and went inside the room.

Kurt smiled and met her gaze when he saw Kiara sitting up in her bed, playing with her hair absentmindedly. Then he watched as she began to survey Kitty critically, searching for some unknown something. It was then that Kurt realized that Kiara would never be able to look at someone and decide right away that they were trustworthy. It would take time. They would have to earn her trust, prove themselves to her.

"Hey," Kurt said, smiling as he returned to the chair he had been sitting in earlier. "How are you?"

"Hi, I'm Kitty," Kitty said before Kiara had a chance to respond.

Kiara watched as Kitty phased her arm through the poster board she was carrying and offered her her hand to shake.

"Okay," Kiara said, staring at Kitty's hand. "That's kind of freaky." Then she saw the look on Kitty's face and quickly added, "But in a good way. It was cool."

The smile returned to Kitty's face and the two of them shook hands silently.

Kurt smiled, relieved to see that nothing bad had happened yet.

"We made this for you," Kitty said, giving the poster board to Kiara. "It's a "Welcome" card. Everyone signed it."

Kiara stared down at the card for a moment. Her eyes traveled over the hearts and glitter and smiley faces as she read the signatures. "Who is everyone?" she said after a moment.

"The other X-Men, of course," Kurt told her, smiling.

"Who else?" Kitty said, laughing as Kiara set the card down on the floor.

"So," Kurt said to her. "How are you? Tired?"

"Not really," Kiara said, shaking her head. "I mean, before last night I spent, like what, two days in here -- asleep?"

"Yeah, that's about right," Kurt said. "We were starting to think you would never wake up."

"Yeah, you woke just about everyone else up with you, too, though," Kitty said. "Last night, I mean. Logan was not happy this morning." Then she frowned. "You'd think he would be used to a lack of sleep, though."

"Who is Logan?" Kiara asked them, frowning.

"Oh, he's just one of our instructors here at the Institute," Kurt told her. "He's nice, though. Don't worry."

"Oh, he's nice alright," Kitty said, laughing humorlessly. "When he isn't trying to, like, kill us in Danger Room sessions."

"What's a Danger Room?" Kiara asked.

"Oh, that's where we go to train," Kurt said. "Logan doesn't always run the sessions, but they're always the hardest when he does."

"Yeah," Kitty said. "It's got, like, laser beams and everything. Not exactly fun, but it gets easier with time."

"Laser beams?" Kiara said. "Sounds dangerous." She was surprised when the two of them laughed at her lame joke. She decided to change the subject. "So are Kurt and I the only ones around who have to wear those image inducer things?"

Kurt frowned as he watched her survey her own body. The black scales had crept down her arms and he suspected that they had begun to take over her upper-body as well. "Afraid so," he said, attempting to smile, "but don't worry. The others won't bother you about it. They're nice."

Kiara smiled and nodded. She looked a little reassured, but not much. Kurt could tell that she was not happy with her new look.

"There used to be one other boy named Evan," Kitty said, "and he might have had to where one, but he left and went to live somewhere else."

"Are there a lot of mutants around here?" Kiara asked, looking up at her.

"Well," Kitty said. "There's us and the ones who live in the sewers --"

"The sewers?" Kiara said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," Kitty said, nodding. "That's where Evan is, last we checked."

"And then," Kurt added, "there's the Brotherhood."

"The Brotherhood?" Kiara asked.

"Oh, they're just a bunch of stupid boys who like to cause trouble," Kitty said, rolling her eyes.

Kurt leaned closer to Kiara and whispered in her ear. "And Kitty is dating one of those stupid boys."

"Uh, try was," Kitty said, scowling and Kiara laughed at the look on her face. "Lance and I broke up in June."

"And you're going to go running back to him as soon as the school year starts," Kurt said, laughing. "Just like always."

"So," Kiara said quickly before Kitty had a chance to retort. "What's school like around here?"

"Well," Kitty said, looking at her. "When you couple that with, like, missions and training, it's exhausting."

"You guys go on missions?" Kiara said. "To like, what, save the world?" She laughed.

"You better believe it," Kurt said, frowning at the look on her face. "You'll get to go, too, once you learn to control your powers."

"So that's, like, when?" Kiara said, frowning. "Never?"

Kurt immediately realized what was wrong -- she was remembering the fire. And her father's death. He wished she wouldn't feel bad about making that _dummkopf(1) _die, but she didn't know what he had done to her. She couldn't remember anymore. All he could do was comfort her, and try to remember that that was a good thing.

"Don't worry," Kurt said, reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder. He was glad when she didn't cringe away from him. She trusted him. "You'll get the hang of it, I promise."

Kiara looked down at his hand and then she met his gaze. She stared up into his golden eyes for a moment, and her expression softened. It turned into one of shame. "Sorry," she muttered, looking away from him.

"Don't worry about it," Kurt said, smiling.

They all sat silently for a moment, and Kitty felt very much as though she was intruding upon a very intimate moment. She looked up at Beast and could tell that he felt the same way.

"So," Kiara said, breaking the silence at last. "What are your guys' powers anyway?"

"Oh," Kitty said, smiling, glad for the subject change. "Well, I can phase through things, as you saw earlier."

"Oh," Kiara said, smiling. "Is that what you call that, phasing? I thought that was just you trying to freak me out."

Kitty laughed. "Did it work?"

"Quite well," Kiara assured her.

"And I can teleport," Kurt said.

"You can teleport?" Kiara said, narrowing her eyes at him skeptically. "No way."

"Just watch," Kurt instructed her.

Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared beside Beast on the side of the room.

"No way," Kiara said, laughing in disbelief.

Kurt teleported back to her bedside, laughing. "Told you," he smiled at her.

"Can you teleport with other people?" Kiara asked him.

"Sure," Kurt said, catching on immediately. He reached out to grab her arm. Then he saw the look on Beast's face and quickly added, "But not while you're in here."

"Ah," Kiara whined. "No fair."

Kitty and Kurt burst laughing at her, and Kiara stuck her tongue at them playfully.

"What about you, Beast?" she called across the room, looking over their shoulders.

"Well," Beast said, smiling at her. "Unless you can't having an IQ highly above average, this about it." He gestured to his blue, furry self.

"It's amazing," Kurt said, laughing as Kitty walked him back to his room. "It's like she's a different person."

"Yeah," Kitty said, laughing. "She's nice. See you at dinner."

Kurt went in his room and collapsed onto his bed as Kitty pulled the door shut.

It was true. Kiara was like a different person. She was happy, but not entirely. Kurt thought back to that look on her face she had worn for only a brief moment. The look she had worn when she was remembering the fire and her father.

As he thought back to it, Kurt knew that there was some great, dark void deep within her that was still filled with sadness. He wondered if it would ever go away.

No, Kurt decided. That was a stupid thing to wonder. Of course it would go away. It had to. He would make it go away. He would make her forget her father.

Kiara was better, though. She was happier. Much happier and that's all that mattered.

Kurt smiled at the thought.

1) Dummkopf -- German for "jackass".


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

8

Kiara didn't know how she had managed to fall asleep after spending so much time asleep already. She sat up silently and looked around the room. The lights were out and Beast was gone. She checked the clock. It was two AM.

That's when she felt it. The horrible pain that tore up and down up her spine. It hurt so much. What was happening?

Kurt sat bolt upright in bed. He had thought he had heard something -- screaming -- but he wasn't sure. He might have been dreaming. Then he heard it again and he knew he wasn't dreaming. He jumped out of bed as he heard footsteps pounding outside his door.

By the time Kurt had teleported to the infirmary, the others had already arrived. He found Kitty in the crowd and made his way towards her.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. "What happened to Kiara?"

"I don't know," Kitty said. "Something bad." She cringed as Kiara's screams echoed down the hallways.

Kurt ignored the hushed mutters of the other students and pushed his through the crowd. As the got he closer, the screaming slowly turned into sharp cries of pain. Then he stood in the doorway of Kiara's unable to move, frozen with shock and fear.

Kiara sat, partially obscured, on the floor by her bed. Blood soaked her bed sheets and medical gown, and streamed down her body, which was now completely covered with black scales. Bloody pieces of scaly flesh littered the floor and clung to the walls.

Kurt gasped audibly and moved towards to her. Then he froze again and he immediately began to understand what had happened. The growth on Kiara's back, which had been larger than a medicine ball the last time he had seen her, had not been a tumor as they had suspected. It had been a shelter for something they had not anticipated: Great, black, blood-soaked, dragon-like wings had sprouted from her spine similar to the way an angel's wings might.

They had been, slowly, developing inside the growth on Kiara's back and they had finally run out of room, causing it to explode.

Beast pushed past Kurt silently and began to mop the blood off of Kiara's body with a fistful of sanitation wipes.

"There is nothing to see here. Everyone, go back to your rooms."

Kurt turned to see the professor making his way through the crowd of students, who had all begun to disperse.

"Kurt," Kiara said quietly through her tears.

"All right you, Kiara?" Kurt said, looking at her.

Kiara stared at him for a moment as though questioning his sanity. She shook her head. "It hurts," she sobbed. "It hurts so bad."

"We know, Kiara," Beast said soothingly as he mopped the blood off her body. "We know. Just try to calm down."

"Charles."

Kurt turned to see Ororo come in the room with a fresh medical gown for Kiara.

"Ah, yes, thank you," Professor Xavier said to her. Then he turned to Beast. "Hank, why don't let Ororo take over that so Kiara can get out of those clothes?"

"Come here," Ororo said gently, as she knelt down beside Kiara and began to wipe her wings clean.

"Who are you?" Kiara asked as she watched Kurt follow Beast and the professor out of the room.

"My name is Ororo Munroe," Ororo told her.

"I'm Kiara," Kiara said simply. "Do you teach here?"

"Yes, I do," Ororo said. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

Kiara screamed as her wings began to shudder violently and she knocked over the contents of a nearby medical cart. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, Kiara," Ororo said gently. "Now, please try to calm down."

"What the heck was that crash?" Kitty said as she phased in through the wall.

"something fell," Ororo said simply. "Tell Jean to bring me a harness out of the supply closet down the hall."

"Right," Kitty said, nodding, and she phased out of the room through the wall.

Ororo helped Kiara out of the bloody medical gown and her wings began to flap spastically. They pounded against the wall until Kiara began to raise two, three, four, five, six -- six feet into the air.

"Jean!" Ororo called over Kiara's panicked cries.

Kiara didn't like this. She wanted to be safe, down on the ground, but she was too afraid to try to take control. She wanted it to stop.

Why wouldn't it stop?

Kiara flew up another foot, then backwards without realizing it. She cried out loudly as she banged her head against the wall. Then the fire flared up within her and she could feel the flames in her throat.

"I'm here," Jean said as she walked inside the room, carrying the harness Ororo had asked for. "Sorry it took so -- whoa!"

Jean quickly created a shield as the flames began to pour from Kiara's lips. Jean gestured to a nearby window and used her powers to guide it open. Ororo's eyes rolled back into her head as she gathered a wind strong enough to put out the fire Kiara had created.

Then once the fire was out, Kiara felt her body go rigid. She locked eyes with the red-haired girl, who was dragging her hand through the air, guiding Kiara back to the floor.

Kiara sat on the ground, sobbing.

"It's alright, Kiara," Ororo said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "It's alright."

Jean sat down next to Ororo and gave her the harness. That's when Kiara heard the voices in the hall.

There were people out there still, arguing. Kurt was one of them, she knew, but there were several voices she did not recognize.

"What is going on in here?" Kitty demanded as she phased back into the room.

"It's nothing, Kitty," Jean said, sighing.

"It doesn't sound nothing," Kitty informed her.

Kiara's wings fold automatically as Ororo helped her into the harness.

"You're going to have to wear this under your clothes when you're outside of the Institute," Ororo said as she buckled the harness.

Kiara nodded and looked up at Kitty.

"Are you alright?" Kitty asked her.

"My back hurts," Kiara said as Ororo helped her into a clean medical gown. She cringed as the shouting in the hall grew louder. "Kurt sounds angry."

She watched Kitty exchange a glance with Jean.

"He's just worried," Kitty said, smiling weakly. "That's all."

Kiara nodded and locked eyes with Jean again.

Jean sighed and said, "My name is Jean Grey. I'm a student here."

"You're a telepath," Kiara said as realization dawned on her. "Like the professor. You read my mind."

"I'm telekinetic, too," Jean said, smiling.

Forty-five minutes later, Kiara lay, shaking, in her bed in the infirmary with Kurt and Kitty at her bedside.

"Well, the good news is," Beast sighed, "that Kiara is going to be fine. Her transformation is complete and the physical damage looks much worse than it actually is. None of it is, in any way, serious."

"Would it be safe then to move her out of the infirmary tomorrow?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"Yes," Beast said, "but I wouldn't recommend starting her training for, at least, another forty-eight hours. Give her some time to get over the initial shock."

"I think we all need some time to recover from this," Professor Xavier said, nodding.

Kurt turned to Kiara as the adults left the room. "How are you?" he asked her. It was a stupid question and he already knew the answer. She was shocked, terrified, and probably every bone in her body hurt and throbbed with pain. But he had to ask, anyway. He had to.

Kiara attempted to smile reassuringly. And failed. "Why were you yelling earlier?" she asked.

"Ah," Kurt said, frowning. "Logan wanted to start your training tomorrow."

Kiara frowned and was internally glad that Beast had disagreed.

"I bet you're glad you finally get to get out of here, huh?" Kitty said, laughing. "And you've got wings. How cool is that?"

"It isn't," Kiara told her. "I look like something out of a freaking sci-fi movie."

"So, who cares?" Kitty said. "You get to learn how to fly. Be happy."

"After tonight," Kiara said, "I don't even want to try to learn to fly. I, officially, hate flying."

"You don't mean that," Kurt said.

"Yes, I do," Kiara said firmly.

"You're still in shock, that's all," Kitty said. "You'll get over it."

"Kitty's right," Kurt said, nodding. "You're going to forget about what happened tonight. Then you're going to learn to fly and you'll love it."

"If you say so," Kiara muttered doubtfully.

"And you don't look like something out of a sci-fi movie," Kurt said, smiling.

"I don't?" Kiara asked him.

"_Nein_," Kurt told her. "I think you look _Wunderbar(1)." _

"Okay," Kiara said, laughing. "You need to go back to bed before you lose all your braincells due to lack of sleep."

"Hey," Kurt said, laughing, and pushing her playfully.

1) Wunderbar - German for wonderful.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

9

When Kiara woke up the next morning, Beast was standing at the foot of her bed with Ororo or the professor on either side.

"What's going on?" Kiara asked, sitting up.

"It's moving day, Kiara," Professor Xavier reminded her.

"You mean I'm finally getting out of here?" Kiara asked him.

"Yep, that's right," Beast said, smiling.

"I've brought you some clothes to wear," Ororo said, handing Kiara the outfit she held in her hands.

"Thank you," Kiara said.

She waited until they had left the room to look at the clothes Ororo had brought her. A simple red dress and a black cardigan. Kiara sighed. The clothes were too girly for her taste, but she was grateful.

Kiara stood up and pulled the medical gown off. Then she checked to make sure the harness hadn't come undone and got dressed. When she was finished, she found Kurt waiting for her out in the hall with the others.

"I like the dress," he said, smiling. "It looks good on you."

"Thank you," Kiara said, looking away from him.

"Now, then," Professor Xavier said as Kurt and Kiara began to follow him down the hall. "The other students already know who you are, Kiara, so there's really no need for formal introductions, and Kurt will be your mentor until it is time to start your training. If there's anything you need, he'll help you find it."

Kiara smiled at Kurt.

"Your image inducer and uniform will be done by the end of the day," Professor Xavier continued, "and you will be sharing a room with Kurt's sister, Rogue, for safety reasons."

"What safety reasons?" Kiara asked him.

Professor Xavier stopped and turned to look at her. "Rogue," he told her, "has the ability to absorb the powers and life-force of other mutants simply by touching them. She is the one who sedated you the day of the fire. As you are currently unable to control your powers, she would be the able to deal with them easiest if you were to lose control."

Kiara nodded and looked at Kurt. "Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?" she asked him.

"You never asked," Kurt reminded her.

"True," Kiara agreed, nodding.

"Well," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "Why don't the two of you go get some breakfast in you and then Kurt will show you around the mansion, Kiara."

"C'mon," Kurt said, leading Kiara to the kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen, Kiara froze.

Kurt frowned and looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Are there a lot of people in there?" Kiara asked, nodding in the direction of the kitchen.

"Does it matter?" Kurt said. "We're only eating breakfast."

Kiara thought back to night before. To the strangers who had crowded her doorway when they had heard her screams of pain. There had been so many of them and she could hear their hushed words, despite her own screams:

"_Whoa…freaky."_

"_Wicked…" _

"_She looks like a lizard."_

"_Gross…" _

"Hey…"

Kiara looked up at the sound of Kurt's voice.

Kurt reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. "Stop worrying," he said, smiling. "No one here is going to judge you. They're all really nice, I promise."

Kiara nodded and followed him into the kitchen. She was pleased to see that it was almost empty, except for Jean and two men. One of them was tall with brown hair and sunglasses. The other was shorter and muscular with dark, spiky hair.

"Oh, hey, Kiara," said the one with the sunglasses. "I'm Scott Summers. How are you?" He extended his hand to her.

"I'm good," Kiara said, shaking his hand. "Thanks."

The spiky-haired man looked up at her from over the top of his newspaper and grunted at her.

"That's Logan," Kurt said when he saw Kiara looking at him. "Just ignore him. He's in a bad mood."

"So," Logan said, putting his paper down. "Are you looking forward to tomorrow's Danger Room session, new girl?"

"It's not even a real session," Kurt said before Kiara could respond. "It's a demo and Kiara's not even participating."

"Yeah, well, she should," Logan said. "It'll be good for her and she needs to get a handle on those powers of hers."

"I'll start my training," Kiara said, sitting down beside Kurt, "when Professor Xavier says I'm ready to. Not sooner or later."

Logan grunted and left the room.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked her.

Kiara nodded and pulled a box of cereal towards her as Jean made a spoon and bowl land in front of her on the table.

"Are you sure?" Jean said, sitting down at the table. "Logan can be a little…" She exchanged a glance with Scott, searching for the right word. "…Harsh sometimes."

"I meant what I said," Kiara said, firmly, "but he's right about one thing. I need to get a handle on my powers before someone else gets hurt." She shoveled cereal into her mouth and cringed away from the taste. It was disgusting, but she sighed and ate it anyway.

Kurt stirred his cereal absentmindedly as an uncomfortable settled over the room. Kiara was still upset her father's death. She still blamed herself.

"Kiara," Jean said, reaching out and touching her hand. "No one blames you for what happened to your father."

Kiara smiled at her.

"Okay," Kurt said when they were finished eating. "So would you like me to show you around the mansion? I could introduce you to some of the others."

"Okay," Kiara said, nodding.

"Okay," Kurt said, smiling. They stood and he led her out of the kitchen. "Why don't I take you to your bedroom first and we can make some stops along the way?"

Kiara nodded.

"Right," Kurt said. "So the living room is that way." He pointed down a hall to their left. "And the foyer is just beyond that."

"What about this Danger Room everyone keeps talking about?" Kiara said as he led her through the living room. She looked around.

It was basically normal. There was a TV like the one in the kitchen, a computer and some video games, and some exceptionally nice furniture.

"Oh," Kurt said. "That's on the lower sub-level of the Institute."

"The lower sub-level?" Kiara said with raised eyebrows. "What else is down there?"

"Lots of supply closets and some other training rooms," Kurt said as he took her through the foyer. "Cerebro, the main computer system, and the jet hanger, but you'll get to see all that tomorrow. Maybe."

"What is Cerebro?" Kiara asked, looking around the foyer.

It was huge with hardwood floors and it split off into several other hallways.

"It's a machine that the professor uses to find mutants who need our help," Kurt said as he led her up the grand staircase. "It's how we found you."

Kiara nodded and said, "What about the main computer system -- what does that do?"

"Well," Kurt said, "it mostly just controls the security system, but it does some other stuff that's pretty hard to explain."

Kiara nodded again.

"Anyway," Kurt said as he led her down a long hallway. "The library, the professor's study, Beast's lab, and some spare rooms are downstairs, but most of the bedrooms are up here."

They paused outside a door. "This is your room," Kurt said as he opened the door.

Kiara looked around the room. It was very clean with a plain brown carpet, two twin beds, a tall bookcase filled with books, a wardrobe, and a computer.

"That bed is yours," Kurt said, pointing to the bed beside the window.

Kiara walked over to the bed and lay down. Kurt sat down next to her.

They were both silent for a moment. Then Kiara looked at Kurt and said, "You're from Europe, right? You weren't raised in the states, were you?"

"_Nein_," Kurt said, frowning. "I was born and raised in a small village in Germany."

"Germany, huh?" Kiara said. "Was it nice there?"

"It was," Kurt said, nodding, "but a lot of the people in my village were…Not nice to me or to my family."

Kiara understood immediately. "They were afraid of you," she said, looking away from him. "Because of the way you look. Because you're a mutant."

"To them," Kurt said, "I was not a mutant. To them, I was a demon."

"That's a stupid thing to think," Kiara said, smiling. "You aren't even scary." She poked him playfully.

"Well, neither is Beast," Kurt said, smiling, "but you terrified of him the first time you saw him."

"That's true," Kiara said, frowning. "I woke up and saw him standing over me. I thought I was having another nightmare, at first. Then I realized he was just a mutant. That's why he looked different and that calmed me down a little, but I was still scared. I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to know where I was. I thought I was in trouble."

Kurt nodded. "That's understandable," he said. "Do you have a lot of nightmares?"

"I used to," Kiara said. "I can't remember what they were about, though."

Kurt knew what they were about and he knew they weren't nightmares, either. But he wasn't about to tell her that.

"So," Kiara said, deciding to change the subject. "What's your sister like?"

"Well, she likes to read," Kurt said, smiling and gesturing to the bookshelf. "But she isn't really much of a people person. She's nice, but she mostly keeps to herself. You'll like her."

"Is she from Germany, too?" Kiara asked him.

"_Nein_," Kurt said, shaking his head. "She was raised here in America."

"Is she your only sibling?" Kiara asked, smiling.

"As far as I know of," Kurt said, laughing. "What about you -- you're only child, right?"

"Last time I checked I was," Kiara said, laughing. "Unless my parents had some love child I don't know about."

"Hmm," Kurt said, nodding. "What was life like in California?" It was a stupid question, but he had to know the answer.

"It was alright, I guess," Kiara said as she sat up and shrugged. "Just your average small, country farm town. My dad wasn't home much, but we got along pretty well most of the time. I didn't have a lot of friends in school."

"You didn't have friends?" Kurt said, laughing. "That's hard to believe. You're such a nice person."

"People didn't really like my dad," Kiara said, "and he didn't really like me spending time with the other kids. He thought that they were troublemakers. What about your parents?"

"My parents," Kurt said, smiling, "are the nicest people in the world."

"Do you miss them?" Kiara asked. "Do you miss Germany?"

"I miss my parents a lot," Kurt said, frowning, "but I don't miss my village much. It's kind of hard to miss place where everyone hates you. I don't know if I'll ever go back there."

"I still don't understand how anyone could possibly hate you," Kiara said, frowning. "You're the nicest person I've ever met."

"Thank you, Kiara," Kurt said, smiling.

"Well, it's true," Kiara said, laughing. Then she decided to change the subject. "Hey, you said there's a library here, right?"

"Sure," Kurt said, nodding. "C'mon. I'll take you there."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

10

Kiara stood in the doorway of the library, frozen, with Kurt at her side. She stared at the short brown-haired boy who sat at the table a few feet away from her. He looked normal. He had his books spread out in front of him like he was studying.

Kiara didn't know him. She had never seen him before in her life. But the fire flared defensively within her and some part of her body screamed at her to retreat. To run away. This boy could hurt her.

"Kiara?"

Kiara looked up at Kurt. "Who is that boy?" she asked, pointing to the brown-haired boy.

"That's Bobby Drake," Kurt said, looking at the boy. "Why, do you know him?"

"No," Kiara said, scowling at the boy. "He's dangerous, though."

"Bobby?" Kurt said, laughing. "He's not dangerous. He's still in junior high."

"What are his powers?" Kiara asked.

"He can create and control ice," Kurt said, frowning.

He watched as Kiara continued to scowl at Bobby. Then he understood. Ice was a form of water and Kiara could be hurt by water. She was afraid of him because of what had happened in the field behind her house.

"Don't worry, Kiara," Kurt said. "You're safe. He would never hurt you."

Kiara looked at Kurt uncertainly. Then she nodded and the fire died down. She trusted his judgment. She walked over to a nearby bookshelf, trying her best to stay as far away from Bobby as possible as she did so.

Kurt smiled and followed her to the bookshelf. "What kind of books are you looking for?" he asked her.

Kiara shrugged. "Maybe a horror novel," she said. "Not Stephen King, though."

"Not Stephen King, huh?" Kurt said as he walked through the aisles. He stopped and pulled a book down from one of the taller shelves. "Here. Try this. I think you'll like it."

Kiara took the book from him and flipped through it. She nodded and continued down the aisle. Then she paused and looked at Kurt. "What's the date today?" she asked him.

"August twenty-seventh," Kurt told her. "School starts next week. Why?"

"And I'll be going to school with you?" Kiara asked. "At the high school, I mean?"

"Well," Kurt said, frowning, "you're fourteen, right?"

Kiara nodded.

"Then yes," Kurt said, smiling. "You'll be starting your freshman year at Bayville High School. We probably won't have a lot of classes together, though. Kitty and I are both starting our sophomore years."

Kiara frowned and his smile faded when he saw how disappointed she looked. She turned away from him.

"We'll be able to spend lots of time together here, though," Kurt said quickly as he followed her down the aisle. "If you want to, that is."

Kiara paused at the end of the aisle and pulled a thick, hard-cover book off the shelf. She smiled at him. "Do they teach foreign languages at Bayville?" she asked him.

"Don't all high schools?" Kurt said. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Kiara said, shrugging.

"Right," Kurt said. "Did you find what were you looking for?"

Kiara hugged the books to chest, protectively almost. "Yeah," she said. "We can go now."

Kurt smiled as an idea occurred to him. "Good. I'll teleport us back to your room."

He grabbed Kiara by her arm before she could respond. Then the two of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Kiara was lying on the floor of her bedroom and Kurt was staring down at her. "Are you alright?" he said as bent down to help her pick up her books. "The first time is usually a bit overwhelming."

He picked up the hard-cover book Kiara had taken out of the library and began to examine it, but she snatched it out of his hand before he had a chance to read the title. He frowned at her.

"You aren't allowed to look at this book," Kiara told him.

"And just why not?" Kurt said as he reached out to take the book from her.

Kiara jumped to her feet and hid the book behind her back. "Because you don't need it," she said, smiling.

"And you do?" Kurt said, smiling.

"Yeah, I do," Kiara said, walking over to her bed and putting the book under her pillow.

"Alright then," Kurt said. "How about you tell me _why_ you need it."

"I can't tell you," Kiara said, laughing. "It's a secret."

"You know," Kurt said, sitting down next to her on the bed, "it isn't nice to keep secrets from friends."

They both fell silent, and Kiara continued to smile at him. "You aren't guilt trip me into showing you the book," she told him after a moment.

"Ah, why not?" Kurt moaned. "What's the big deal -- it's just a book."

Kiara opened her mouth to speak, but someone else spoke before she had the chance to respond.

"Hey, you two lovebirds. How's it going?"

Kiara looked up to see a gothy, pale-skinned girl with brown hair that was shot through with streaks of white standing in the doorway.

"Ah, Rogue," Kurt said, repositioning himself on the bed. It was then that Kiara realized they had been leaning towards each other, sitting much closer together than she had thought. "There you are. This is Kiara."

"I know who she is," Rogue said in a thick Southern drawl as she walked over to the bookshelf and pulled down a thick volume. "Y'all had better cool it, though, 'cause people can see you through that there window."

"What are they going to see?" Kurt said, scowling. "We weren't doing anything. We aren't even dating."

"We barely know each other," Kiara added.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Kurt said, frowning at her. "But we definitely aren't dating."

"Whatever," Rogue said, smirking. "There's no reason to bite my head off. I was just warning you." She looked up at Kiara. "Jean, dropped some stuff off for you. Your things is the wardrobe and mine are in the closet."

Kiara stood up and went over to the wardrobe, and pulled the doors open. It was filled with brand new clothing that still had the tags on it. There were two boxes on the floor of the wardrobe. One was large, white, and rectangular. The other was small and see-through and held what seemed to be a bright red sports watch.

Kiara bent down and picked up the boxes.

"What is it?" Kurt asked, standing up so Kiara could set the boxes on the bed.

"Well," Kiara said, picking up the box that held the watch. "This is a watch."

"No, it isn't," Kurt said, taking it from her. "It's your image inducer. It looks just like mine. See?" He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and showed her his image inducer.

He was right. If hadn't been for fact that his was black and Kiara's was red, she never would have been to tell them apart.

"Do you think it works?" Kiara asked, looking at him.

"Try it," Kurt commanded, shoving the box into her hands.

Kiara took the thing out of the box and strapped it to her wrist. She stared at it for a moment. There were four buttons on the side of it. "What button do I press?" she asked Kurt.

"Try this one," Kurt said, pointing to one of the buttons.

Kiara pressed the button and turned to the full-body-sized mirror that hung on the front of the closet door. She stared at her reflection in disbelief. Her blood-red eyes were now a deep shade of dark brown and her skin was now pale, ivory-toned. Her scales had disappeared completely. The only thing that hadn't changed was her hair, but that was okay. The blood-red and bright yellow streaks could easily be mistaken as hair dye.

"I look normal," Kiara said, unable to look away from her reflection.

"I know," Kurt said, smiling. "It's incredible, isn't it?"

Kiara turned to face him and saw that he had turned on his own image inducer. With his now pale skin and brown eyes, he looked as normal as anyone else in the mansion. If Kiara hadn't seen him in his true form, she never would have thought that Kurt was a mutant.

"Yeah, it's incredible," Rogue said, "but it's not real. It's all an illusion. You need to remember that."

"An illusion?" Kiara asked, looking at her.

"She means it's a hologram," Kurt said, turning his image inducer off.

"Exactly," Rogue said. "And you need to remember what Ororo said about that harness, Kiara. You _have _to wear it outside of the Institute or else your wings will breach the hologram and everyone'll be able to see them."

Kiara scowled at the mention of the word "wings". She was still trying to pretend that her own did not exist. She had been doing so well up until a moment ago.

"C'mon," Kurt said quickly when he saw her expression. "Let's see what else Jean brought for you." He dragged her back to the bed.

Kiara turned off her image inducer and opened the second box. There was some sort of outfit and a note inside. She picked up the note and read aloud, "Be sure to think of a codename before tomorrow and read tonight's evening newspaper, page three." She looked up at Kurt. "What do I need a codename for?" she asked him.

"For when we go on missions," Kurt said. "We all have one. This must your uniform." He took the outfit out of the box.

Kiara's uniform turned out to be what looked like a blood-red full-body jumpsuit with two X's on it. There was a bright yellow one on the front and a black one on the back. It came with a pair of thick, heavily-padded black gloves and black boots.

"That is the dorkiest-looking outfit I have ever seen," Kiara said, taking the outfit from Kurt and she could tell by the feel of the fabric that it was waterproof. For obvious reasons.

She thought back to the incident in the field behind her house and quickly cringed away from the memory.

"Well, you have to wear it during training and when we go on missions," Kurt said, laughing.

"I guess," Kiara said. Then she smiled. "Well, at least I know what my codename is."

"You thought of one already?" Kurt asked her, surprised.

"Yeah," Kiara said, laughing at the look on his face. "I pretty much came equipped with one."

"Okay," Rogue said simply. "Would you mind telling us what it is?"

Kiara smiled at her. "Blaze," she said simply.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

11

Kurt lay on his bed silently and stared up at his ceiling. He wasn't sure how many hours had passed since he had last seen Kiara. He had been disappointed when she asked him to leave her alone for a little while after she had read the article in the evening newspaper that Jean had referred to.

The headline had read "Girl Gone Missing After House Fire Found At Last." It stated that Kiara had been in progress of transferring to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters for personal reasons, and had arrived at the Institute that day before the fire had even occurred. It also said that local authorities had discovered that the fire had started upstairs and spread through the rest of the house when her father had dropped a lit cigarette in his bedroom without realizing. It did not mention the fact that Kiara's father was a sex offender, thankfully.

Kurt had watched Kiara's expression grow sad and hurt as though the newspaper had betrayed her by printing the article. For reminding her of the fire and her father's death. Then he had watched her trudge up to her bedroom and close and lock the door because Rogue had gone out somewhere with Kitty.

Kurt thought back to when he had told Kiara about his family and his past earlier that day. He had never told someone so much so soon after meeting them. He had always been reluctant to talk about his past because it brought back painful memories, but he found Kiara easier to talk to anyone he had met before, even the professor. The words poured from his mouth like water from a river and he never stopped to think twice about them until long after he had spoken them. He didn't try to hide his feelings as much as he usually did when he was around her.

Why was that?

Kurt didn't know and he didn't really care at the moment. Seeing Kiara hurt had left him feeling wounded, and he knew that this time, she would have to recover her own. Because that was what she wanted and because he didn't know how to help her. He would just have to give her time, he supposed.

Kiara sat on her bed and stared at the words printed in the hardcover book she had taken out of the library. She was feeling better now because she had mostly forgotten about the newspaper article, but now she had something else to deal with: Kurt.

He had tried to talk to her about the article. He had tried to comfort her. She had grown frustrated with his persistence and had asked him to leave her alone before the fire had a chance to flare up inside her. She had seen the hurt in his eyes and the look of disappointment on his face, but the need for her to be alone was overwhelming. She had to be alone.

So now Kiara was doing the only thing she thought might make Kurt happy, even though she had no idea if it would work.

Kiara sighed and slammed the book shut, frustrated. This wasn't working. She had tried again and again to get the words right, but she just couldn't. She looked at the computer in the corner. Would Rogue mind if she used it?

No, she didn't think so.

Kiara stood up and went over to the computer. She down at the desk and accessed the Internet easily. Then she went to Google and found the site she needed.

Kiara stared at the textbox and thought for a moment. She thought that she should try to apologize, and then decided that it was better to start out slowly. She typed the words "Hi, how are you?" in the box and waited for the computer to translate them. But just seeing the words translated didn't help her much.

Kiara turned the speakers on and listened to the pronunciation of the words. Then she thought back to Kurt and tried to mimic his accent. Once she was sure she had it right, she looked back at the screen and said the words over and over again until it sounded similar to the computer's pronunciation. She checked the clock on the computer. It was a little past nine PM. She wondered if Kurt was still up.

Kiara stood up and left the room. She closed her bedroom door quietly behind her. She knew that the students had to be in bed by a certain time, but she wasn't sure when. She wandered down the hall until she found Kurt's room and paused outside his door. She hadn't been inside it yet.

Kiara took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She was relieved when Kurt answered the door two seconds later. They stared at each other for a minute and then Kiara said, "_Hallo, wie geht es Ihnen(1)?" _

"You speak German?" Kurt said, laughing in disbelief.

"Just answer the question and stop making me worry," Kiara said.

"I'm fine," Kurt said. "Come in. Why didn't you tell me you could speak German?"

"I didn't tell you," Kiara said, following him inside the room and closing the door behind her, "because I can't speak German. That's the only sentence I know."

"Well, when you did learn it?" Kurt asked, laughing. "And how?"

"I learned it just a few minutes ago," Kiara told him. "I looked up it on the Internet, and that book I took out of the library…It's called _German Made Easy_." She looked away from him and sighed. "I know you said you don't miss home much, but I wanted to learn because I thought you might like it."

"Well, why didn't you tell me so?" Kurt said. "I would have taught you."

"I don't know," Kiara said, shrugging. "I guess I wanted to surprise you. I was even going to take it in school. I don't really know why, though. I mean, you have plenty of people to talk to like Kitty and Rogue and the professor. I guess it was kind of a stupid idea, huh?"

"Of course not," Kurt said. He thought for a moment. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything," Kiara said, looking up at him curiously.

"I know we've only known each other for a few days," Kurt said, smiling at her. "But I already feel like your one of my best friends in the world."

That was a lie. He actually felt much closer to her than that, but he wasn't going to tell her that when he didn't even know why that was.

"Thanks, Kurt," Kiara said, smiling at him. "I feel the same way about you."

"So, like, wait," Kitty said, sitting down on Kurt's bed half an hour later. Kiara had already left to go to bed. "She said that she wanted to learn to speak German because she thought you might like it?"

"Yes," Kurt said, sighing. "I've told you that one hundred times already."

"And now you're going to teach her?" Kitty asked.

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "She's going to take it in school and I'm going to tutor her. You know, help her study and stuff."

"Same diff," Kitty said. Then she added thoughtfully, "Maybe Rogue was, like, right."

"Right about what?" Kurt asked.

"Oh," Kitty said, looking at him. Even though they were in _his_ room, she had completely forgotten that he was sitting right beside her. "It's nothing."

"Did she say something about me and Kiara?" Kurt demanded, scowling.

"No, I swear," Kitty said. She pretended to check her watch. "Oh, wow, is it that late already? I better, like, get to bed."

Kurt watched her phase out of the room and sighed. Sometimes, he didn't understand why he bothered telling her anything.

1) Hallo, wie geht es Ihnen? - German for "Hi, how are you?"


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

12

The next morning, Kiara woke up early so that she wouldn't be late for the Danger Room demo.

"Do think I'll have to wear my uniform?" Kiara asked Rogue.

"Probably not since you aren't participating," Rogue said.

Kiara nodded gladly. She shuddered at the idea of wearing that god-awful outfit. She checked to make sure the harness hadn't come undone, even she had tightened it twice the night before. It hadn't so she dressed quickly in pair of faded blue jeans and a red tank-top. Then she waited for Rogue to get changed into her uniform, which was, thankfully, just as dorky as Kiara's was.

When it was time to go, they found Kurt and Kitty waiting for them out in the hallway.

"It's about time," Kurt said. "Tell me, why do all girls take so long to get dressed?"

"Because unlike guys," Rogue said, "we actually care about the way we look."

Kiara laughed as she followed the three of them down the hall and down the grand stairs. They turned a into one of the long hallways that branched off of the foyer and walked until they reached an elevator. Kiara thought it looked very much out of place in the mansion with its shiny, silver doors.

"Now, look, Kiara," Rogue said as they stepped inside the elevator. "We're going to third floor 'cause that's where the Danger Room is along with all of the other training rooms. You're going to be in the Danger Room's control center with Professor Xavier, so you're getting off at the second floor. Got it?"

"You know," Kurt said, pushing the buttons for the second and third floors. "I'm pretty sure the professor said that I was Kiara's mentor."

"Well, then why didn't you tell her all this yesterday?" Rogue snapped at him.

"What's your problem?" Kurt asked. Then he thought for a moment. "Have you been talking to Gambit again?"

"No, I haven't," Rogue said, scowling at him.

Kurt looked at Kitty, who nodded her head silently.

"Who's Gambit?" Kiara asked them in a whisper, not wanting to upset Rogue again.

"Rogue's boyfriend," Kitty told her. "Sort of."

"What did they fight about this time?" Kurt asked.

Kitty shrugged. "She won't tell me."

"I can hear y'all, you know," Rogue informed the three of them.

"Opps," Kiara said as the elevator doors slid open, and she left quickly.

Kiara walked down the hall until she came to a door. She went inside the room and found herself standing in what looked like a circular private seating box at a sports event. There was an enormous window, which overlooked what must have been the Danger Room. An even bigger computer with an expansive keyboard full of flashing lights took up most of one the side walls.

"Hello, Kiara. How are you today?"

Kiara looked up to see Ororo, Logan, Beast, and Professor Xavier standing in front of the window. Beast was punching some information into the computer.

"Hey," Kiara said, walking over to them. "I'm good."

"That's good," Logan said. "Because there's something I want you to see. Look down there."

Kiara looked out into the Danger Room. She could see Jean, Cyclops, Rogue, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler standing in the center of the room.

Logan spoke into a microphone:

"Computer, begin simulation Blaze-One."

Kiara looked at him, shocked. They had named a simulation after her?

Why?

Then she watched as the Danger Room was transformed into what looked horribly similar to the field behind her house after a horrible downpour. There was mud everywhere and most of the field was partially flood with, at least, half a foot of water. At the end of the field there was a raised platform. It was easy enough to figure out what the objective of the exercise was.

Kiara felt her entire body go rigid. There was so much water down there. Too much. Just looking at it made the fire flare up inside her.

"What the hell is that?!" Kiara demanded, scowling at Logan.

"_That_," Logan said, "is the new training simulation we installed just for. A long few other new toys."

"Like what?" Kiara asked. She was almost afraid of the answer.

"Just a few pressurized water cannons and a couple of laser grids every few feet," Logan said. Then he saw the shocked expression on her face. "Come on, kid, you didn't really think this training was going be easy?"

"Of course not," Kiara said angrily. "Kurt told me about the hover bombs and lasers cannons, but you can't honestly expect me to run that." She looked from one X-Man to another.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said after a moment of silence. "Part of being an X-Man is learning to face your fears and endure. It is simply something that has to be done. Do you understand?"

Kiara stared at him in disbelief. "Whatever," she said, and turned back to the simulation.

There was utter chaos in the Danger Room. They were running a course that they had never practiced before. Not only that, but someone -- Logan -- had forgotten to tell them about the newest pieces of the obstacle course. Pressurized water cannons and two very large laser alarm grids that they, apparently, had to avoid completely.

"Damn it," Rogue cried as she narrowly avoided being hit by a paintball.

Nightcrawler teleported on top of the paintball cannon and easily disarmed it, while Cyclops shot optic laser blasts at the nearest water cannons.

Meanwhile, Shadowcat had finally located the control box for one of the laser alarm grids. She phased her hand through it and shorted it out.

"One down," she said, smiling. "One to go."

"Shadowcat!" Cyclops called out to her. "Pay attention."

"What?" Shadowcat said, looking up. Then she quickly phased through a horde of circular hover bombs.

Jean stopped the bombs in their tracks and forced them to clutter together. They exploded on contact. Nightcrawler teleported away from the last paintball canon, and managed to get to Rogue, who was dangerously close to where the bombs had been, before the explosion could get to her. He teleported her to the platform at the end of the field.

"Don't move," Nightcrawler instructed her.

"Why would I?" Rogue called after him.

He teleported to where Shadowcat was and landed in a waist-deep puddle of water. "Where's the control box for the second grid?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Shadowcat said, shaking her head. "I haven't been able to find it."

"There!" Cyclops called, pointing to small black box in the far corner of the room near the very top of the ceiling.

"How do you expect me to get way the hell up there?" Shadowcat asked, splashing water angrily.

Cyclops shot an optic laser beam at it, but missed as he was sent flying backwards when a hover bomb exploded in his face.

"Jean!" Shadowcat called out suddenly.

"I'm on it," Jean called to her, catching on quickly.

Jean gestured to Shadowcat and levitated her up to where the second control box was. Shadowcat phased her hand through it and shorted it out. Then she was sent flying when Jean lost her concentration and was hit by a paintball seconds later.

"I thought you got all of them," she called to Nightcrawler.

"So did I," Nightcrawler said as he teleported and caught Shadowcat in mid-air.

He teleported her to the platform where Rogue was.

"Hurry up, guys," Rogue called to Jean and Cyclops.

There were only thirty seconds left on the clock, and they all had to make it to the platform. That was the objective.

Cyclops leapt to his feet and ran to Jean. He pulled her to her feet and began to drag her across the flooded field towards the platform. But Jean knew they weren't going to make it in time. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock and they weren't moving fast enough. That meant that they only had one option.

Jean tightened her grip on Cyclops's hand. Then they began to rise into the air. Jean flew through the air as fast as she could, but they were running out of time.

Jean threw Cyclops onto the platform. Then she landed beside him, panting.

The buzzer rang. They had made it.

By the time the X-Men got on the elevator, they were soaking wet and very, very irritated. And much to their great annoyance, Kiara was laughing so hard that she had lost her balance and was holding onto the wall for support. Watching the others run the course had helped her to temporarily forget about her hydrophobia.

"You know," Kurt said to Kiara as she retreated away from him and the others. "I thought I hated that field because of what happened to you, but I was wrong. I really hate it because of what just happened back there."

This comment only made Kiara laugh harder.

"You know, Kiara," Scott said, "I really don't see why you're laughing. You have to start your training first thing tomorrow morning."

Kiara fell silent for a moment, which made the others laugh. Then she looked at the professor and said, "You wouldn't really make me run a course like that on my first day of training, would you?"

"Of course not, Kiara," Professor Xavier assured her. "It would be much too difficult for you."

"Yeah," Logan said. "We'll start you off on something easy. Like immobile target practice."

Kiara smiled at the others triumphantly.

"Lucky," she heard Kitty mutter under her breath.

Kiara laughed as the doors of the elevator slid open.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said as she made to follow the others down the hall.

Kiara stopped when she heard his voice, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue stop to wait for her. Jean and the others just kept on going.

"Yes, professor?" Kiara said, turning to face him.

"I would like you to meet me in my study this afternoon at three O'clock," Professor Xavier told her. "An old student of mine is coming to visit and I want to introduce you to him."

"Oh," Kiara said. "Um, okay. I'll be there."

"Good," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "I'll see you then."

Ten minutes later, Kiara, Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue were all sitting on the floor in the middle of her bedroom. She was so unnerved that she didn't even care that they were still soaking wet. They made sure to sit a good distance away from her, though.

None of them wanted her to have an episode like the one she had had in the field.

"Who do you think he wants you to meet?" Kurt asked her.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kiara said. "I've only been here for a few days. I don't even think it's been a week yet."

"Good point," Kurt said, frowning.

"Well, we know that he's a man," Kitty said thoughtfully.

"And he's one of Professor Xavier's old students," Kurt added.

"Right," Kitty said, nodding. "So, like, how many of the professor's old students have come back to visit so far?"

"Hmm," Rogue said. "Let me think -- tons. Besides, what makes y'all think he's a repeat visitor?"

There was a short silence, during which they all considered that comment.

"You know," Kurt said, "if he's one of the professor's old students, then he might be one of the original X-Men."

"The _original _X-Men?" Kiara said, confused.

"You didn't seriously think we were the originals, did you?" Rogue asked her.

Kiara shrugged. She had thought that, actually.

"You know," Kitty said, "if this guy is one of the originals, then he's probably, like, really strong and important."

That was all Kiara needed to hear.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

13

Kiara spent the rest of the morning getting ready so that she could make a good first impression on whoever it was Professor Xavier wanted her to meet. She locked herself in the bathroom and attacked herself with a fistful of sanitation wipes that she had found in her wardrobe. When she was done, Kitty dragged her back to her room to help her pick out a "nicer" outfit.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Kiara asked.

"You're, like, kidding, right?" Kitty said in disbelief.

Kiara exchanged a look with Rogue, who was pretending to read a book, but she was actually watching the two girls with a fair amount of interest.

Kitty rummaged through Kiara's wardrobe and pulled out a black dress and a red cardigan.

"Put these on," Kitty instructed Kiara.

Kiara sighed and changed into the clothes. "How do I look?" she asked Rogue when she was finished.

"Like an idiot," Rogue said, looking up from her book.

"Excuse me?" Kitty said. "I think she looks great."

"Look," Rogue said, closing her book, "I know what you're trying to do, but the girly look just doesn't suit her." She looked at Kiara. "Take that cardigan off."

Kiara sighed again and did as she was told. Rogue walked over to her closet and pulled out a silvery, see-through T-shirt.

"Put this on," she told Kiara.

Kiara put the T-shirt on, and as she did so, Rogue went back to her bed and reached under it. She pulled out a small shoebox.

Kiara and Kitty both went to sit beside her on the bed. Rogue took the lid off the box. It was full of a rainbow assortment of nail polish. Pink was the only color that was missing.

Rogue pulled out a bottle of blood-red nail polish and began to paint Kiara's nails.

When she was finished, Kiara stood up so that the two girls could survey her.

"You're right," Kitty admitted, feeling slightly shocked. "She does look better."

Rogue smirked at her silently, kicked the two of them off her bed, and went back to reading her book.

When Kiara left her room at quarter to three that afternoon, she found Kurt waiting for her in the hall. He took one look at her and, suddenly, it was his turn to laugh at her.

"Kitty got to you, didn't she?" he asked, laughing.

"Yeah," Kiara said, scowling. "So did Rogue."

This comment only made Kurt laugh harder because in all the time he had known Rogue, he had never, ever heard of her giving anyone a makeover.

"It isn't funny," Kiara said, annoyed. "I feel like a human Barbie."

"Well," Kurt said, smiling as they started off down the hall. "At least it looks good on you."

"You think so?" Kiara said, smiling.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't," Kurt assured her.

Kiara was silent, smiling as she followed him to the professor's study.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

14

When Kiara got to Professor Xavier's study, she didn't even both to take in it's appearance. She was too busy staring at the tall, blonde-haired man who beside him.

He was dressed in a red and white jumpsuit and he had enormous, feathery, angel-like wings.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said, "I would like you to meet Warren Worthington III. Otherwise known as Angel."

"Pleased to meet you, Kiara," Angel said, offering her his hand to shake.

Kiara shook his hand as his name registered in her mind. Worthington. The name sounded familiar. She had heard it somewhere before, but she wasn't sure where.

"Angel is going to be your flight instructor, Kiara," Professor Xavier told her.

"My _what_ instructor?" Kiara said, looking at him.

"Your flight instructor, Kiara," Professor Xavier repeated. "The two of you will meet once a week every Sunday until you can fly on your own."

Kiara sat down in one of the chairs in front the professor's desk. "No," she said. "I don't think so. I don't want to learn how to fly."

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said, "I know that you're still upset about what happened the other night, but your wings are a part of who you are. You must learn to embrace them. They will only be a curse to you if you don't. So I want you to promise that you will, at least, try."

Kiara looked down at her hands and she was silent.

Angel approached her and knelt down in front of her. "Listen to me, Kiara," he said gently. "I know what you're going through and I know how scary it can be. But you have a gift, and it isn't something you should be afraid of. It's something you should be proud of. Do you understand?"

Kiara looked up at him and the fear was evident on her face. "I'll try," she whispered.

"Good," Angel said. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock in the foyer."

Kiara left the study and found Kurt waiting for her in the hall. "What's wrong?" he said when saw the look on her face.

"I have to learn how to fly," Kiara said without looking up at him.

"Is that a bad thing?" Kurt asked her.

Kiara looked up at him with a horrified look on her face and her eyes shone with unshed tears. Then she looked away from him and fell to her knees, sobbing.

Kurt stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then he knelt down, grabbed her by her arm, and teleported them back to her room.

They landed safely on top of Kiara's bed, and Kurt was glad to see that Rogue was nowhere in sight. She would get the wrong idea and jump to conclusions.

Kurt sat up and pulled Kiara close to him. She curled up into a ball and buried her face in his chest.

Kurt tried to ignore the tiny lines of smoke that came off her cheeks, but he couldn't. He could only imagine how much the feeling of water on her bare skin hurt. He took her in his arms and rested his chin on top of her head.

Kiara cried for hours, and Kurt was glad that those hours passed uninterrupted. He knew they must have looked strange together. The furry, blue teleporting elf holding onto the winged pyro girl, who was covered in black scales. He could only imagine what the others would say if they saw them like this.

"I'm so sorry," Kiara said at long last, pulling away from him.

"Don't apologize," Kurt told her. "It's not your fault."

"But I --" Kiara said.

"Don't," Kurt said again. "You can't help being afraid, so just don't, alright?"

"Thank you," Kiara said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

That night, Kiara had trouble falling asleep after Kurt left her. So she stayed up late, reading the book he had recommended to her. He was right.

She did like it.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do own the X-Men.

15

The next morning, Kiara found herself being shaken awake by Rogue.

"C'mon, Kiara," Rogue said. "It's almost time for your lesson with Angel."

"I can't believe I fell asleep," Kiara said, sitting up. Her book fell to the floor.

"You?" Rogue said. "I thought I was never going to fall asleep. You kept me up all night talking about Germany."

"Germany, huh?" Kiara said. "I wonder why."

"I know why," Rogue told her. "It's because you so spend much time with Kurt. Y'all two spend so much time together it ain't even funny."

Kiara knew where this conversation was going. "It's not like that, Rogue. We're just friends. End of story."

Kiara decided it was time for a subject change. "Do you think I'm going to need the harness?" she asked her.

"Well, you're learning to fly," Rogue said. "So probably not."

Kiara groaned. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

She dressed quickly after that. She had to force herself to take off the harness, and once that was done she kept her wings pressed firmly against her back. She didn't even bother looking in the mirror once she was dressed. The uniform would look just as dorky on her as it had in the box.

"Oh, don't forget," Rogue said as Kiara made to leave. "You've got target practice with Professor Xavier in the Danger Room once you're done with your lesson with Angel."

"Why in the Danger Room?" Kiara asked.

"A fire-breathing pyro who can barely control her powers," Rogue said. "Why do you think?"

Kiara nodded and left.

Angel was already waiting for her when she got to the foyer.

"Am I late?" Blaze asked him.

"Nope," Angel said, smiling. "You're right on time."

Blaze found herself unable to return his smile and they were both silent for a moment.

"Well," Angel said, "follow me."

Blaze followed Angel out the front doors and stopped. She stood on the front porch silently as she realized that this was the first time she had actually seen the grounds of the Institute. A tall, wrought-iron gate stood at the end of a long, winding drive way. A fountain with a statue of a female angel in it stood in the middle of the perfectly manicured lawn. From where Blaze stood, she could see some kids she hadn't met yet playing a game of basketball in the court on the side of the mansion.

Blaze followed Angel a little ways away from the mansion until they came to the edge of a cliff, which overlooked the ocean. Blaze felt her body stiffen as she stared down at the water below. She retreated away from the edge of the cliff.

"Okay, Blaze," Angel said. "How do mother birds teach their babies to fly?"

"Look," Blaze said, "I know I've got wings and everything, but if you're planning on pushing off me that cliff just say so, so I can start walking away."

Angel laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"Okay," Blaze said. "Then what is the plan?"

"Come stand beside me," Angel said.

Blaze stared at him. He was standing on the very edge of the cliff and looked as though he would topple over at any given minute. Then again, he did have wings. She sighed and decided that if she fell and he didn't catch her, he would the first person to get set on fire once she learned how to control her powers. She went to stand beside him.

"Okay," Angel said. "Now look down and tell me what you see."

"Water," Blaze said simply, and the fire flared up inside her at the mention of the word. "Lots and lots of water." She looked at him. "What does that have to do with anything, though -- I thought you were teaching me how to fly."

"Blaze," Angel said, "if you were alone right now and you fell off this cliff, what would you do?"

Blaze shrugged.

"You would act on your instincts," Angel told her. "You would fly and it would come naturally to you."

"Because I was danger, right?" Blaze guessed.

"Right," Angel said.

Blaze thought for a moment. "Are you sure you weren't planning on pushing me off this cliff," she said, "because it's kind of starting to sound like you were."

Angel laughed again. "Professor Xavier said you managed to fly on your own once before," he said. "How high up do you think you were?"

Blaze shrugged. "Five," she said. "Maybe six feet."

"Six feet, huh?" Angel said. "Take my hand." He offered his hand to her.

Blaze looked at his unfurled wings and retreated. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No. Absolutely not."

Angel ignored her protests, and grabbed her by her arm. Blaze squeezed her eyes shut as he lifted her up into the air. Then they were flying.

Blaze struggled to keep her wings folded because she was afraid he would drop her if she spread them.

"Open your eyes!" Angel called out over the _whoosh_ing sound the wind made.

Reluctantly, Blaze did as she told and immediately wished she hadn't. They were flying along the side of the cliff towards the water. Then, at the last minute, Angel flew upward in a U-turn. They flew higher and higher until Blaze could see the entire mansion and it's grounds.

There more students out now. Some of them were staring up at them and waving.

"Why don't you wave back?" Angel called.

Blaze shook her head.

They flew in an oval around the mansion once, then they headed back towards the cliff. Once it was view, Angel let go and dropped her.

Blaze screamed as she felt her wings unfurl. For about ten seconds, she was gliding through the air. Then she swooped, unknowingly, downwards in an awkward L-shape, and managed to land harshly on her hands and knees. She sat, shaking, for a moment. Then her body gave away and she lay, sprawled on the ground. She forced herself to sit up, but she was too afraid to try to stand.

"What the hell was that?!" Blaze demanded as Angel touched down in front of her.

"Before you can learn to fly properly," Angel said, "you have to learn how to fall first."

"I already know how to do that," Blaze hissed through her teeth as the fire flared up inside her.

"Yes," Angel said, "but not from such a great height."

"You know," Blaze said, pushing herself to her feet. She was relieved when she didn't fall down again. "Why don't you just tell me what next week's lesson is going to be like, so I can tell the professor why I didn't show up?!"

"So that's it?" Angel said. "You're quitting -- I thought you wanted to be an X-Man."

"So you dropped me out of the sky without any warning?" Blaze said.

"You're lucky that's all that happened," Angel told her.

"What are you talking about?" Blaze asked him.

"Do you think," Angel said, "that your enemies or the weapons in the Danger Room will just drop you out of the sky to see if you can land on your feet?"

"My enemies, maybe," Blaze said. "The weapons in the Danger Room, no."

"You'll be more than likely to get shot out of the sky rather than dropped," Angel said. "And we weren't very high up when I dropped you. Only about fifteen feet. If I were one of your enemies, we would have been up much higher."

Blaze sighed. "That's slightly comforting," she said. She looked up at Angel. "You aren't going to make me do that again, though, are you?"

"That's what today's lesson is all about," Angel said.

"Damn it," Blaze said as he pulled her to her feet.

Blaze would have thought that now that she knew what was she for in, things would have been a little easier. She was wrong. The goal was to get her to land stably on her feet after being dropped out of the air, but they only had an hour long lesson. Angel flew up a little bit higher with her every time. Then when he dropped her, Blaze found herself gliding through the air for few seconds before she panicked and crash-landed.

They repeated the procedure several times until Blaze finally manage to land, shakily, on her feet only to fall down seconds later.

"Well," Angel said as he touched down beside her. "I guess we're going to have work on that some more next week."

"Please, tell me you're kidding," Blaze moaned.

"We have to," Angel told her. "You only managed to land on your feet once. Then you fell over."

"I hate flying," Blaze muttered.

"I don't believe that," Angel said.

Blaze looked up at him. "Why not?" she asked.

"Because," Angel said, "if you really hated it, you wouldn't be trying."

Blaze sighed and stood up. "Whatever," she said. "I've got to get to the Danger Room."

When Blaze got to the Danger Room, she was surprised to find Wolverine waiting there for her instead of the professor.

"Where's Professor Xavier?" she asked as the doors to the Danger Room slid shut.

"He got busy," Wolverine said simply. "So I'm subbing."

"Okay," Blaze said. "What do I have to do?"

"Come here," Wolverine instructed her.

Blaze went to stand beside him. Then he said, "Computer, initiate Immobile Target Practice Level One."

Twelve target signs rose up out of the floor. Each one was a little farther away than the last.

"Okay," Wolverine said. "So far you've only been able to summon your powers when you feel angry or threatened."

"How did you know that?" Blaze said, looking at him.

"You're not exactly hard to read, kid," Wolverine said. "Anyway, what I want you to do right now is focus on something that makes you angry and shoot flames at that sign." He pointed to the one nearest to them, which was a foot away.

"Do I have to get, like, a bulls eye or anything?" Blaze asked him.

"Nope," Wolverine said. "All you've got to do is hit that sign, but first I want you to think of something that makes you angry."

Blaze closed her eyes and tried think of things that made her angry. What made her angry -- there were so many things. Being dropped fifteen feet out of the air without any kind of warning made her angry. Being asked to let people shoot at her with pressurized water cannons made her angry. Being asked to go anywhere near water made her angry. But there was one thing that stood out from all the rest.

Reading about her father's death in the paper, knowing that she had made it and he didn't. Being told that it wasn't her fault when she knew that it was. That made Blaze angry.

Blaze let the fire flare up inside of her until she could feel it tearing at her throat. Then she was blind and deaf to the world. Everything was dark and she didn't care. She didn't care about anything. She didn't care about hitting the targets. She just wanted it out -- she wanted the bad thoughts gone. She wanted to be with Kurt because he made the bad thoughts go away.

Blaze opened her mouth to scream, but the sound was cut off by the flames that poured out of her. That didn't matter, though. She had already known that would happen. She had been expecting it.

Blaze let the flames pour out of her until the fire died down and the bad thoughts were gone. Not gone for good, but gone for now. Forgotten.

Then Blaze was on her knees, back in the Danger Room, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Wolverine was kneeling in front of her, shaking her gently.

"Kid?" he said, panicked. "Kid, are you alright?"

Blaze looked at Wolverine, wiped the tears out of her eyes, and shook her head to get rid of the smoke that clouded her vision. "How did I do?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and lacked emotion. She was still out of it.

"You did good," Wolverine told her. "You took out six signs all at once."

Blaze nodded. "Are we done now?" she asked.

"Yeah," Wolverine said, standing up. "Yeah, we're done. You can go."

Kiara raced down the hall towards Kurt's bedroom. She pounded on his door, but no one answered. She swung the door open, but no one was there.

Kurt wasn't there. He was gone. Where was he -- where could he have gone?

The living room?

The kitchen?

Somewhere outside on the grounds?

It didn't matter, Kiara decided, and she didn't feel like running all over the mansion, looking for him. She went down the hall to her own room and she was pleased to find that Rogue wasn't there. She had the room to herself for now.

Kiara slammed the door shut and went over to her wardrobe. She threw the doors open and scowled at the clothes inside. Why had they given these to her?

Kiara had killed her father. She was responsible for his death -- she didn't deserve them. She didn't deserve them.

Kiara snatched the clothes off the hangers and flung them on the floor. She didn't want them. She didn't want to look at them. She wanted them gone.

Then Kiara stopped and fell to the floor, sobbing. She took a shaky breath and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

They had given these clothes to Kiara because they wanted her here. Her father's death had been an accident, hadn't it?

Kiara hadn't meant for him to die. So it had been an accident, and besides, she needed this.

No, Kiara wanted this. She wanted to learn how to control her powers, so that she could protect people. She wanted to make up for causing her father's death. This is what her parents would want too. Wasn't it?

Kiara's parents would want her in a safe place and this was a safe place. This is what was best for her and her parents would want what was best for her. And this was it.

Kiara sighed and began to pick up the clothes silently. When she was finished, she curled up on her bed and held the book she had been reading last night close to her chest. It reminded her of Kurt and the thought of him kept her calm.

Professor Xavier sighed.

Kiara was calm now. She was safe. He didn't have to worry anymore.

A/N: I would just like to take the time to apologize for not updating in so long. My computer's been acting up. Also, thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read and review my story. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would have given up a long time ago.

Oh, and one more thing: For those of you who are waiting for Kurt and Kiara to hook up, remember this: Drama must come before romance. Thank you.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

16

Kurt and Kitty sat in the kitchen, chatting quietly. They both looked up when Logan entered the room.

"Hey, how did target practice go with Kiara?" Kurt asked him.

"Yeah," Kitty said, smiling. "We, like, saw Angel flying around with her, but she seemed kind of upset about it."

"That must have been what she was annoyed about when she got to the Danger Room," Logan muttered as he reached into the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. "I wonder what the hell that lesson was about."

"Why?" Kitty asked. "Did she give you trouble?"

Logan laughed. "No, she did fine," he told them. "In fact, she did too well."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"I asked to her focus on something that made her angry," Logan said, sitting down at the table. "I don't know what the hell she was thinking about, but it must have been bad. She took out six of the twelve target signs in one go. Then she was on the floor, crying. I don't think she heard a word I said after that because she just sat there for about five minutes, staring at nothing. I had to start shaking her to get her to respond to anything I said."

"Well," Kitty said, "she's, like, alright now, though, right?"

"I don't know," Logan sighed, shaking his head. "She ran out of the Danger Room crying. I went to the professor and told him what happened. He might have calmed her down by now, but I'm not sure."

Kurt stood up, scowling.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" Kitty said, looking up at him.

"I'm going to check on her," Kurt said simply. Then he was gone.

Kurt teleported and stood outside of Kiara's bedroom door. He knocked silently.

"Come in," he heard Kiara call.

Kurt went inside and looked around. Some part of him had expected the room to be trashed, but it wasn't. Logan must have been wrong about how upset she was.

Kurt's eyes settled on Kiara. She was sitting on her bed, reading.

"Oh, hey," Kiara said, smiling at him. "What's up?"

"Uh," Kurt said. "Logan said you were upset."

"I was earlier," Kiara said, "but I'm fine now."

"That's good," Kurt said, smiling as he sat down next to her on her bed. "How was your first day of training?"

"Oh, my god," Kiara said, lying down. "It was so awful. I swear to god, I have never been so scared before in my life."

"Why?" Kurt said. "What happened?"

Kiara sighed. "Well," she said, "Angel took me to this cliff overlooking the ocean and decided he wanted to work on my landing. So he just grabbed me and started flying, even though I told him no. So we were up, like, fifteen in the air and then he just dropped me."

"You're kidding?" Kurt said, laughing.

"No, I'm not," Kiara said, pushing him playfully. "Why would I kid around about something like that? He seriously just dropped me without even warning me. I wanted to kill him afterwards."

"Well," Kurt said, "at least you're okay. Why did you get upset during target practice, though -- what happened?"

"Oh," Kiara said, frowning, and Kurt could tell that she didn't want to talk about it, but she kept going anyway. "Logan told me to think about something that made me angry. I started thinking about my dad and the fire. How I caused the fire, and I guess I just lost control."

"Kiara," Kurt said, frowning because he hated the idea of her grieving father. He hated her father, but he hated seeing her like this even more. "You know that what happened to your father wasn't your fault, right?"

"I know," Kiara said, "but if hadn't been for me…For the X-gene, he might still be here." Then she saw the look on his face and added, "Don't get me wrong, I know that being a mutant isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is. I learned that after I came here, but if I wasn't so dangerous…If my powers hadn't kicked in when they did…" Her voice trailed off.

"So you don't care about the other things anymore?" Kurt asked her.

"Not really," Kiara said, smiling. "I mean, I could definitely do without the wings and the scales, but I know I can learn to control to my powers. I have to."

"You don't even care about how you look?" Kurt said, smiling in disbelief.

"Mmm-mmm," Kiara said, shaking her head. "I mean, there's nothing I can do to change it, but I'm here now, and it's not like I can't go out in public because I've got the image inducer now. And it helps knowing that I'm not the only one who doesn't look completely normal."

"Hey," Kurt said, pretending to be hurt.

Kiara laughed. "I'm really you guys brought me here," she told him. She looked up at him. "You're my best friend, Kurt."

"You're my best friend, too, Kiara," Kurt said, smiling.

"Don't let Kitty hear you say that," Kiara said, laughing.

They were both silent for a moment. They stared at each other, neither one of them knowing what to say or what to do.

"Hey, you guys," Kitty said as she phased through the door, making them both jump. "Opps. Were you guys having a moment -- I'm sorry."

"We weren't having a moment," Kiara said, sitting up. "Seriously, though, haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"What's point of knocking when I can just, like, walk through walls?" Kitty said, laughing.

Kiara groaned, annoyed.

"Just tell us what you want," Kurt said.

"Oh," Kitty said. "Beast wants us all to come down to the Danger Room."

"What, the Danger Room?" Kiara said. "Please, tell me you're kidding."

"Relax," Kitty told her. "We're just playing dodge ball. Beast is refereeing."

"Oh," Kiara said, smiling. "Okay. I can live with that."

"Good," Kitty said. "Now, get dressed and let's go. They're waiting for us."

Kiara kicked Kurt out of her bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.

By the time the three of them got to the Danger Room, all of the other students had beat them there. Kiara looked around. She knew some of the students by name and by face, but only because Kurt had pointed them out to her. She wasn't really sure what their powers were, though.

Everyone looked up as Beast came into the room with two carts full of dodge balls. He placed one cart at end of the room and the other at the end of room. Then he appointed team captions -- Kurt and Scott.

Kitty, Kiara, and Rogue all ended up on Kurt's team. She didn't pay attention to any of the others. She was just happy to be on the same team as her friends.

"Ready," Beast said. "Begin!"

The game started, and it was fun for a while. Kiara liked this game. She was good at it, especially since they weren't allowed to use their powers.

That didn't last long, though, and Kiara quickly ducked out of the game after Bobby decided it would be fun to turn her end of the room into an ice rink. Luckily, she avoided touching the ice with her bare skin and was protected by her clothes, but it was total chaos after that.

A girl named Tabitha started throwing tiny, sun-like bombs instead of dodge balls. Another girl named Jubilee shot fireworks into the air and caused several of the balls to explode. Jean floated high above the rest of them and levitated the balls back at whoever had thrown them at her. Kitty phased through the balls, and Kurt teleported away from the attacks. The two of the them dominated the game for a while. Then it was just them versus some middle school kid named Jamie, but, apparently, it didn't count when he got hit because, whenever he got hit, he automatically created a horde of doppelgangers. The doppelgangers outnumbered Kitty and Kurt, and they quickly lost after a few minutes had passed.

"That was fun," Kiara said, laughing when the game was over.

"Fun?" Rogue said. "You just sat there most of time."

"Yeah," Kurt said. "Her and just about everyone else on the team after Bobby's team started using their powers."

"He's, like, got a point, Rogue," Kitty said.

"Whatever," Rogue said, "but I don't ever want to play that game again."

Kiara understood why immediately. Even while she was sitting out, Kiara had managed to get hit in the face twice by a member of the opposing team.

Kitty groaned as they piled into the elevator together.

"What?" Kiara asked her.

"School starts soon," Kitty said, looking at her.

"Really?" Kiara said. "When?"

"This Wednesday," Kurt told her. "Don't worry, though. Just stay away from the Brotherhood and you'll be fine."

"No offense, Kurt," Kiara said, "but duh. Why would I go look for someone if I already know that they want to mess with me?"

"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "Besides, you're the one who plays pranks on them every year."

"Hey," Kurt said, smiling. "They deserve it."

"Why?" Kiara said. "What kind of pranks do you pull?"

"Well," Kurt said, "once I filled Toad's locker with soapy water balloons."

"He actually did everyone a really big favor that day," Rogue told Kiara, smiling.

"Wait," Kiara said, "why would you do that and why is he called Toad?"

"You'll see," Kitty assured her.

"Yeah," Kurt said. Then an idea occurred to him. "Do you want to help, Kiara -- Evan used to, but he's gone now."

"Hmm," Kiara said. "Last I checked, me plus water equals hospitalization."

"Okay," Kurt said. "So no water balloons."

"I'll think about it," Kiara promised as they got off the elevator.

Kurt made to follow her down the hall, but Kitty pulled him roughly aside. Kiara paused and turned to face them.

"Go on," Kitty told her, laughing. "We'll only be a minute."

Kiara shrugged and followed Rogue back to her room.

"What's wrong?" Kurt said once Kiara was out of earshot.

"School is starting, Kurt," Kitty said simply.

Kurt stared at her for a moment, confused. "Yes, and?" he said when she didn't continue.

"What if someone says something about Kiara's dad being a sex offender?" Kitty whispered.

"Let's go see the professor," Kurt said at once.

"I already know why you're here," Professor Xavier said once they got to his study, "and it's already been taken care of."

"What, when did you --?" Kurt said.

"It wasn't easy," Professor Xavier said, smiling, "but Jean and I managed to wipe the memories of everyone in Bayville. No one within a hundred miles of here knows that Kiara's father is a sex offender."

"You wiped their memories?" Kitty repeated. "When?"

"This morning," Professor Xavier told her. "That's why Logan had to help Kiara in target practice while I was gone."

"Yeah," Kurt said. "That didn't go well by the way."

"Yes, I know," Professor Xavier said, frowning, "but Kiara's powers are linked to her emotions. She lost control this morning because she was focusing on the thing that made her angrier than anything else."

"Which is?" Kurt asked.

"Her father's death," Professor Xavier said simply. "She doesn't understand that it was an accident and she still blames herself for causing it. Her powers are, at the moment, fueled on pent up rage, and she needs to find an outlet."

"An outlet?" Kitty said. "What kind?"

"An emotional one, Kitty," Professor Xavier said. He looked at Kurt. "Do you know that Kiara depends on you for happiness?"

"What, me?" Kurt said. "Why?"

"Because you have proven to your trust to her," Professor Xavier told him. "She knows that Jean and I have the ability to go into her mind freely. She knows that Kitty likes to gossip, like most girls do, and she barely knows Rogue because she keeps to herself so much. So right now, Kiara trusts you more than anyone else in the Institute. Do you know why that is?"

Kurt shook his head.

"When you first met Kiara," Professor Xavier said, "you were alone with her, and she was weak and vulnerable. You could have attacked her if you wanted to, but you didn't. You could have done to her what her father did to her, which is what she fears most. She has nightmares about being raped, but you didn't do that to her. You showed her that she didn't have to be afraid of being alone with you. That is why Kiara trusts you, and that's why she considers you her best friend and her safe haven."

"I can't believe it," Kitty said as she walked Kurt back to his room. "Why would she think that I like to gossip?"

"Kitty," Kurt said, smiling, "do you really think Kiara doesn't what you and Rogue talk about behind our backs -- she isn't dense, you know."

"We aren't the only ones, you know," Kitty informed him as she followed him inside his room. "I saw you holding her yesterday. How do you, like, explain that?"

Kurt sighed. "She was upset," he said. "I was trying to comfort her. What do you want me to say?"

"Upset?" Kitty said. "What was she upset about?"

"She's afraid of flying," Kurt explained, "and she got upset when the professor told her that he had arranged for her to take lessons with Angel."

"Well," Kitty said, "if she was so upset, then why didn't she just say no?"

"Because, Kitty," Kurt said, "that would be like me saying that I don't want to teleport. She has to learn to face her fears like the professor said, you know that. We all went through it."

"Yeah, I guess," Kitty said, "but if you don't want people talking about you, then maybe the two of you shouldn't spend so much time together."

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "Kiara is my friend and she needs me. She's going through a really rough time right now and even if she wasn't, I'd still spend all the time I want with her. I'm not going to abandon her just because people like to spread rumors about us; the same way Jean won't abandon Scott just because people like to spread rumors about them."

"Well, yeah," Kitty said, frowning, "but those two really are going out."

"Did they tell you that?" Kurt said. "Did you ask them?"

"Well, no, but --" Kitty said.

"Exactly," Kurt said. "You shouldn't assume things about people. It's wrong and it's a good way to hurt someone's feelings."

Kitty stared at him silently, hurt, and for one brief moment Kurt thought that she was actually going to cry. Then she smiled and said, "You know, you're right. I think I'll go, like, talk to Kiara."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kurt said. "She's had a rough day of training and she probably just wants to relax. I think you might upset if you start bothering her about something like that right now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kitty sighed. "I just have to wait until, like, later, I guess."

"That's a good idea," Kurt said, nodding, "but have ever you considered that it might be better to wait for Kiara to come to you?"

"Um, no," Kitty said.

"Well," Kurt said, "maybe you should try that then."

"Alright, fine," Kitty said. "I'll try things your way."


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

17

Kurt lay in his bed silently. The professor's words echoed in his mind. Professor Xavier had said that Kiara considered him her safe haven. That she trusted him.

Kurt had already known that, of course, but her safe haven?

The thought made him smile because, even though Kiara had called him her best friend, he had no idea that he so important to her. Then he remembered that the professor said that she needed to find an outlet, so she could forget easier. So she could heal faster.

The professor was right. Kiara did need an outlet. Badly. She couldn't keep blaming herself and losing control of her powers. It wasn't healthy.

Kurt frowned as he remembered his internal vow to make Kiara forget her father and to make her happy. If keeping that vow meant that he had to be her outlet, then he would do it. He would be her outlet.

The next morning, Kiara was surprised to find that she had slept in. She never slept in. She stood up and checked the clock on the computer. It was ten-thirty.

"Wow," Kiara muttered. She really _had _slept in.

Kiara dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, hoping that Kitty wouldn't badger her about how plain her outfit was. It hadn't taken Kiara long to realize that it was a habit of hers.

After Kiara was dressed, she went down the hall to Kurt's room. She knocked on his door, but no one answered. She opened the door and looked around the room. There was no one there.

Kiara closed the door and sank to the floor, wondering where Kurt could have gone. Training, probably. Or out with Kitty. He couldn't spend all of his time with Kiara, after all. He had other friends.

"Oh, well," Kiara sighed, standing up.

As long as no one was bothering her, she might as well try to relax.

When Kiara got down to the living room, there were two girls there already. A blonde-haired girl she recognized as Tabitha and a Hispanic girl she had never met before.

The girls looked up as Kiara entered the room and sat down in a nearby armchair. They left soon after.

Kiara sighed and switched the channel over to Animal Planet.

For some reason, a lot of the other students had taken to avoiding Kiara. She wasn't sure why, but she suspected that it had something to do with the way she had lost control yesterday. She didn't know who told them, but it really couldn't be avoided. Not with so many teenagers living together in one place, anyway.

Kiara watched the nature program that was being aired for a few minutes. Then she looked up when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Hey," Kiara said, smiling when she saw Kitty and Kurt standing in the doorway.

"Here are you," Kurt said, smiling. "We were looking for you."

"Yeah, I was looking for you, too, earlier," Kiara said. "You weren't in your room, though, so I decided to come down here. Where were you guys?"

"We had a Danger Room session with Logan," Kurt said, sitting down on the couch.

"First thing in the morning?" Kiara said, frowning. "Harsh."

"You can say that again," Kitty said, sitting next to Kurt on the couch. "You're, like, so lucky, Kiara. Your training is still, like, wicked easy."

"Ha!" Kiara said, laughing humorlessly. "Easy for you to say. You weren't dropped fifteen feet out of the air yesterday."

"I've been dropped from worse heights than that on missions," Kitty informed her.

"With no one around to catch you?" Kiara asked her.

"Why would that, like, matter to you?" Kitty said. "You've got wings."

"Flying is a lot harder than it looks," Kiara told her. "Especially when you don't know how to do it."

Kitty thought about that for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

"You've got to admit," Kurt said after a minute or two, "it's kind of hard to argue with that."

"Whatever," Kitty said, and Kiara laughed at the look on her face.

"So," Kurt said to Kiara, "what's this you're watching?"

"Oh," Kiara said. "It's just a nature show about animals that live on the African savannah."

"Do you like animals?" Kitty asked her.

"I love them," Kiara said. "I've never actually seen them, though, except for in books."

"Wait," Kitty said, frowning. "Not even at the zoo?"

"I've never been to a zoo," Kiara said.

"Never?" Kitty said, shocked.

"You're not serious," Kurt said, sounding just as shocked as Kitty.

"Um, yes, I am," Kiara said. "Why -- what's the big deal?"

"Wasn't there a zoo in Jameson?" Kurt asked her.

"I don't know," Kiara said, shrugging. "I wasn't allowed out of the house, except for school."

Kurt looked at Kitty and he knew that she was thinking the same thing he was.

"So," Kurt said, looking at Kiara. "Would you like to go the zoo?"

"Of course I would," Kiara said, smiling. Then her smile faded. "But what about training?"

"Kitty and I are free for the rest of the day," Kurt told her, "and if you had training, someone would have told you by now.

"I guess," Kiara said, "but how would we get there?"

"I could teleport us there," Kurt offered at once.

Kiara frowned at him. "You're going to teleport us to a public place," she said, "in broad daylight? Bad idea."

"She's got a point, Kurt," Kitty said.

Kurt sat silently for a moment, thinking. Then he smiled and said, "What if Scott drove us there in his car?"

"Yeah," Kitty said, smiling. "Let's go, like, ask him."

"The zoo?" Jean said, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Why would you want to go there?"

"Kiara's never been to a zoo," Kurt said.

"You're kidding, right?" Scott said, looking at Kiara.

"Nope," Kiara said, shaking her head.

"Well, I guess it could be fun," Jean said, smiling. "What about you, Scott -- it's your car, after all.

"Sure, why not?" Scott said. "I've got nothing better to do today. We'll meet you in the garage."

"Do you guys think Rogue would want to go?" Kiara said once Scott and Jean were gone.

"You know," Kitty said, "she might. I'll go, like, ask her. Tell Scott that I'll meet you in the garage in, like, ten minutes."

"Got it," Kurt said, smiling at her. He turned to Kiara. "Let's go."

"Thanks for doing this," Kiara said, following him out of the kitchen and through the living room.

"Don't worry about it," Kurt said. "I want to."

"You do?" Kiara asked him.

"Kiara," Kurt said, "if I didn't want to do it, then I wouldn't be doing it."

Kiara nodded and paused in the foyer to turn on her image inducer. She smiled when she saw that her scales had been replaced by snow-white skin.

"It's nice to look normal again," Kiara told Kurt. "Even if it is _just _a hologram."

"I thought you didn't mind looking abnormal anymore," Kurt said.

"I don't," Kiara said. "Not around here, anyway, but out there --" she pointed to the front doors " -- I don't think it would be a good idea for me to look 'abnormal' out there."

Kurt frowned. "You're right," he said. "It wouldn't be a good idea, but that's why we have image inducers."

"I know," Kiara said. "You told me that before."

She reached out, took Kurt's hand in her own, and turned on his image inducer. "Now, let's go," she said, running ahead of him and out the front doors. "The others are waiting for us."

"Kiara, wait up," Kurt called, running after her. "You don't even know where the garage is."

When they got to the garage, Jean had already claimed shotgun. So Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, and Kiara all piled into the back of Scott's red and white convertible.

Kurt spent the entire drive to the zoo staring down at his hand. The one that Kiara had held, briefly, in her own. It had only been for a few seconds, and he knew that she had meant it to be a playful, meaningless gesture. So why…?

"Kurt?" Kiara said, pulling him out of his reverie. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Kurt said. "Of course."

"Well, then, like, hurry up," Kitty said. "We're here already."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

18

Once they were inside the zoo, the teenagers began to split up into groups of two. Jean and Scott went off together. Then Kitty muttered something about Kurt and Kiara needing some alone time, and wandered off with Rogue before Kurt had a chance to respond.

"Where would you like to go?" Kurt asked.

"Wherever you want to go," Kiara said, smiling.

Kurt stood silently for a moment as he tried to think of something Kiara might like. "Ah, I know," he said at last. "Come on."

It took a while for them to reach their destination because Kiara insisted on stopping to look at all the animals. It amazed Kurt to see how happy she was. He had never seen her this way before. The frown lines had disappeared completely. Her smile didn't look as forced as it usually did, and her eyes sparkled with a sort of excitement he hadn't known existed in her.

Then, finally, after Kurt managed to pry Kiara away from the ring-tailed lemurs, which she seemed to think were especially adorable, they got to the place he wanted to show her: The petting zoo.

It was a small fenced in area filled with goats and sheep, and there was a rabbit pen nearby, too.

"Oh, my god," Kiara squealed, rushing towards a tiny, baby goat. "They're so cute."

"Would you like to feed them?" Kurt asked her, smiling.

"You can feed them?" Kiara asked him.

"Wait here," Kurt told her.

Kiara watched Kurt go over to a nearby concession stand. Then he came back, carrying two ice-cream cones full of goat feed.

"Thank you," Kiara said, taking one from him.

"I've never seen you so happy before," Kurt said, letting a goat steal the ice-cream cone from him.

"I've never seen so many animals in one place," Kiara said, laughing. "I love animals."

"I couldn't tell," Kurt said, laughing. Then his smile faded. "But, Kiara, the professor told me something about you."

Kiara frowned as she stood up and shooed the goat away from her. "What did he say?" she asked.

"Kiara," Kurt said, "do you still blame yourself for your father's death?"

Kiara stared at him for a moment, speechless. Then she turned and ran from the petting area. Kurt was faster, though.

"It isn't your fault, Kiara," he said, grabbing her by her arm.

"It _is _my fault," Kiara said. "If I hadn't lost control --"

"How could you lose control of something you never knew you had?" Kurt said, lowering his voice because people were starting to stare. "You didn't know that was going to happen. You didn't even know you were a mutant." He whispered the last word.

Kiara's face crumpled with sadness as she shook her head. These were not the words she wanted to hear. She wanted someone to say it was her fault. She wanted someone to blame her. Because someone had to take the blame, and who else was there?

Who?

Kurt seemed to know what she was thinking because he said, "It was no one's fault, Kiara. It was an accident."

"An accident," Kiara repeated.

"Yes," Kurt said, "and you don't have to suffer like this. You don't deserve to, so just stop it."

"But my father --" Kiara said.

"Stop it, Kiara," Kurt begged her. "Please, stop doing this to yourself. It isn't good for you."

Kiara looked away from him. She bit her lip to keep from crying. She couldn't cry here. Someone would see. "My father," she whispered so low that Kurt had to strain his ears to hear her. "He's gone. Forever."

Kurt grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Your father may be gone," he said, "but he's in a much better place than here. I know he is."

It hurt him to say these words to Kiara because he knew they were a lie. Because there was, after all, a special place in Hell for sex offenders. Or, at least, that's what he had heard.

After Kiara had seen every animal there was to see, Kurt took her to the gift shop and bought her a stuffed ring-tailed lemur because he felt bad for forcing her to talk about her father.

Then they met the others at the exit and left. The seating arrangements hadn't changed much, except that now Kiara sat next to Kurt instead of by Rogue.

The car ride back to the Institute was not a quiet one. Kitty, Jean, and Scott spent most of the drive comparing one animal to another. Rogue tuned in the radio to the loudest rock music she could find, so it would be easier to block them out.

Then they stopped in front of the Institute and everyone fell silent.

"Oh, how cute," Kitty cooed.

It was then that Kurt realized that they were all staring at him. "What?" he demanded.

Then he looked down and saw that Kiara had fallen asleep on him. She was clutching her lemur tightly to her chest, and she had, somehow, managed to rearrange herself so that her face was buried in his chest, and his fingers were intertwined in her hair. He hadn't even noticed.

"I'll take her to her room," Kurt said, smiling. He grabbed her by her shoulders and teleported them out of the car.

"And she said they was just friends," Rogue said once they were gone.

Kurt lay Kiara down on her bed, fully clothed. He sat down beside her silently. Then he reached out and switched off her image inducer.

Kurt stared down at her silently. He liked her better this way, despite what some of the others said. This was her true form. The way nature had intended her look.

Kurt brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Then he stood and made for the door.

"Kurt."

Kurt paused and looked at Kiara. She was still fast asleep.

Kiara was dreaming about him, he realized. He wondered if she was having a good dream.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

19

Kiara sat up and looked around her bedroom. It was completely dark and Rogue was fast asleep in her bed.

Kiara turned her gaze to the window. It was dark out there, too. Still nighttime.

Kiara stood up and checked the clock on the computer. It was three in the morning. She sat down in the swivel chair, wondering what the hell was she supposed to do now.

On a normal day, Kiara's body was programmed to sleep for six to eight hours. Waking up at three in the morning was obviously one of the consequences of falling asleep before seven PM.

Kiara sighed and stood up. She knew what she had to do.

When Blaze got to the Danger Room, she was glad to see that it was empty. Then again, why wouldn't it be at this hour?

Blaze walked to the middle of the room and stood there silently. She wasn't exactly what to do. Was there some sort of voice recognition program?

She hoped not.

Blaze took a deep breath and said, "Computer, activate Immobile Target Practice level one."

She watched as twelve target signs rose up out of the floor. Blaze stared at them silently.

They were the same ones from before. The ones from her last session in here. She knew they were because a few of them were very badly burnt.

Whatever. It didn't matter.

Blaze sat down on the floor.

The last time she was in here doing target practice, Logan had told her that she was only able to summon her powers when she felt angry or threatened. So far.

Blaze had focused on the one thing that made her angrier than anything else in the world. That didn't work out so well, and she had been trying to avoid thinking about that subject ever since her last talk with Kurt. She was trying to convince herself that he was right and she was wrong.

So what was she supposed to think about -- focus on -- now?

Something that made her angry?

No, Blaze wouldn't do that. She didn't want to lose control again. Besides that, she had already begun to come terms with most of the changes in her life. She wasn't too thrilled about being shot at pressurized water cannons or dropped out of the sky without any warning what-so-ever. She was still severely annoyed with Angel for that one, but she had to listen to her teachers. It was the only she would ever learn to control her powers.

Blaze sighed. She wasn't angry and she had no reason to feel threatened. So how was she supposed to summon her powers?

Then she realized something.

All the other times Blaze had used her powers, she had never really meant to use them. She had never really wanted to use them. She had never really summoned them, either, Blaze realized as she remembered something Angel had said:

"_Your instincts would take over automatically because you'd be in danger._"

That was why she had only ever been able to use her powers when she felt angry or threatened. Her instincts took over and her powers reacted like some sort defense mechanism. But what about now?

What about when Blaze was calm and safe?

Would she be able to use her powers?

Probably. The other students could use their powers whenever they wanted, so she should be able to do it, too.

It was only a theory, but Blaze thought it made sense.

Blaze stood up silently. She was going to do this. She had to. She wanted to because if she could do this, it would bring her one step closer to learning how to control powers.

Blaze smiled. She wasn't exactly sure how to do this, but she had an idea. She hoped it worked.

Blaze closed her eyes. She had to focus. Her mind to be clear. She had to focus on the fire. Summoning it, controlling it.

Then she saw it. The thing she wanted so badly.

The fire that she knew was burning so deep within her. Then she could feel it growing stronger and flaring up inside her. She let it flare up and tear at her throat until she couldn't take it anymore. Then she released the flames.

The fire poured out of Blaze like a river, strong and powerful. They shot through the air.

Then Blaze was on her knees, watching as the flames ate away at the target sign that stood closest to her, which was also the only one she had been aiming for.

"Oh, my god," Blaze said, laughing.

She had done. She had hit her mark. She had summoned her powers calmly and she had used them without losing control.

"Yes, well done, Blaze."

Blaze stood turned to see Professor Xavier with Logan at his side.

"How long have you been there?" Blaze said, her smile fading as Logan attacked the burning target sign with a fire extinguisher.

"Long enough," Professor Xavier said, "to know that you have calmly managed to exercise some control over your powers."

"Yeah, nice job, kid," Logan said. "Now, do you mind telling us what you're doing down here at three-thirty in the morning?"

"I woke up," Blaze said, "and I couldn't sleep so I -- I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"You --" Logan said.

"No, actually," Professor Xavier said. "You aren't. I'm very proud of you."

"What?" Blaze said, looking up at him.

"Blaze," Professor Xavier said, "do you have any idea how long it takes most mutants to develop any sort of control over their powers?"

"A few weeks?" Kiara guessed.

"Try years," Professor Xavier said, "but you have managed to do so in just a few short days."

"Yeah," Blaze said, "but that was just the first time and I could have lost control at any second."

"But you didn't," Professor Xavier reminded her. "You have just accomplished an enormous feat. So you are not in trouble for now, but please know that I will not tolerate this behavior again. I expect my students to be in bed at this hour, not wandering around the mansion."

"Yes, professor," Blaze said, smiling. "It won't happen again. Thank you."

It was four in the morning when Kurt woke up to the sound of Kiara's voice calling his name as she pounded on his bedroom door.

"What is it, Kiara?" Kurt said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he opened the door.

"You're never going to believe what just happened," Kiara said as she threw her arms around his neck and tackled him to the floor.

They stared at each other, embarrassed, for a moment as she lay on top of him.

"Sorry," Kiara said, laughing as she pushed herself away from him. "I'm just so excited."

"Why?" Kurt said as he stood up and closed the door. "What happened?"

"I actually managed to summon my powers," Kiara said, "when I wasn't, like, totally freaking out, and the only thing that got set on fire was the sign I was aiming for. I didn't lose control."

"Wait," Kurt said. "You mean that you were able to control them -- your powers?"

"For less than thirty seconds, yeah," Kiara said, laughing.

"You're kidding?" Kurt said, smiling in disbelief.

"No, I swear to God, I'm not," Kiara said.

"Kiara, that's incredible," Kurt said, laughing. "It's only been a few days. How'd you do it?"

"I don't know," Kiara said, sighing. "I just wanted it so badly. I wanted the fire and I wanted to be able to control it. Then it just happened." Her smile faded. "I don't think it'll happen again, though."

"_Wenn Sie für etwas hart genug hoffen, dann Sie, unbedingt es zu erhalten(1)_," Kurt said, smiling.

Kiara stared at him. "You do realize that I only know how to say one sentence in German, right?" she said after a moment.

"Yes, I know," Kurt said, laughing at the look on her face.

"So," Kiara said, "do you mind telling me what you just said?"

"If you hope for something hard enough, then you're bound to get it," Kurt said. "My mother used to tell me that."

"You're mother was right," Kiara said, nodding.

"Yeah, I know," Kurt said. "I used to hope for a safe place away from the people who tortured me. Then my parents sent me here."

"So," Kiara said, "you think I'll be able to control my powers again?"

"I know you'll be able to," Kurt told her.

Kiara nodded and lay down on the floor. "You know," she said, "back in Jameson, I used to hope that someone would come save me."

"Save you from what?" Kurt asked her, even though he already knew the answer.

"From being alone," Kiara said. "Because I didn't have any friends at school and my dad was never at home."

Kurt looked away from her. He what Kiara was saying the truth, but he also knew that it was only a half-truth. He knew that, back in California, she had been hoping to be saved from something else. She just couldn't remember what.

"Well," Kurt said, "you never have to worry about being alone anymore."

Kiara looked up at him. "Do you promise, Kurt?" she asked him.

"I promise, Kiara," Kurt said simply.

Kiara rummaged through her wardrobe in search of an outfit that would keep Kitty quiet for the day.

"Oh, my god," Kitty said, phasing into the room. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Kiara said, looking up at her.

"That you learned to control your powers," Kitty said, crossing her arms. "Duh."

"Oh, that," Kiara said, and she went back to rummaging through her wardrobe. "I didn't tell anyone, except Kurt. You can ask Rogue if don't believe me."

"Did she tell you?" Kitty asked Rogue, who was sitting on her bed, reading.

"This is the first I've heard of it," Rogue said.

"Okay," Kitty said, turning back to Kiara. "Then how come you told Kurt, but you didn't tell us?"

"I know why," Rogue said, smiling.

Kiara scowled at Rogue, but ignored her otherwise. She didn't feel like getting into this argument again.

"I don't know," Kiara said. "How do you even know about this, Kitty -- did Kurt tell you?"

"No," Kitty said. "I heard the professor talking about it with Ororo and Beast. Kurt should have, like, told me, though."

Kiara sighed and sank to the floor. "Don't be mad at Kurt," she said. "I tell him everything because he's the one I feel closest to. Don't ask me why, I just do."

Rogue and Kitty exchanged a look. Rogue bit her lip to keep quiet.

"Look," Kitty said, sighing. "I'm not, like, mad. It's just that this is, like, a really huge deal and I wish you would have told me. We are friends, after all."

"I know that, Kitty," Kiara said, "but I'm pretty sure it was just a one time thing, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked her.

"Everyone keeps saying the same thing," Kiara told her. "It's amazing. It's only been a few days and I can already control my powers. I'm not supposed to be able to do that because no one learns to control their powers that fast. So I don't think it will happen again any time soon. That's why I didn't tell anyone but Kurt."

"But some mutants," Kitty said, "learn to control their powers really fast and they turn out to be really, really strong."

"And I'm not one of those mutants," Kiara said. "Trust me."

"You've got to stop downing yourself, Kiara," Rogue said. "You'll make Kurt worry, and don't think I won't tell him because I will."

"Yeah," Kitty added, "and if she doesn't tell him, then I will."

"Fine," Kiara sighed. "Can we just drop it, then, please?"

"Yeah, fine," Rogue said. "I mean, we do kind of have bigger things to worry about what with school starting tomorrow."

"Wait," Kitty said, "school starts, like, when?"

"Wednesday," Kiara said hesitantly, "and tomorrow is Wednesday, right?"

She looked at Rogue, who nodded silently.

"Oh, my god," Kitty said, running towards the door. "I have to go pick out an outfit, like, right now." She paused and looked at Kiara hopefully. "Unless you, like, want me to help you pick out something to wear."

"Don't worry," Rogue said quickly. "You go ahead. I'll help her."

Kitty nodded and phased out of the room.

"Why does she hate my fashion sense so much?" Kiara said, looking at Rogue.

"One," Rogue said, "because you don't have any. Two, she just wants you to look nice for…" Her voice trailed off. She had said too much.

"For who?" Kiara said, scowling. "Kurt?"

"Look," Rogue said, "Kitty just wants you well-dressed. So pipe down and let me help you find something to wear for tomorrow. She'll never shut up if she finds out I let you dress yourself." She stood up and walked over to Kiara's wardrobe.

"Yeah," Kiara agreed, sighing. "You're probably right."


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

20

Kiara lay down on her bed silently. She and Rogue had just finished going through her wardrobe.

Rogue had gotten rid of any clothes she thought were too girly-looking for Kiara and donated a fair of amount of old clothing that she had gotten tired of long ago. So now all of Kiara's outfits were a mixture of goth and punk-rock.

"Well," Rogue said, "I'm off to the library. See you later."

"Bye," Kiara said without looking at her. "Thanks again."

Rogue left the room without responding.

Kiara turned over onto her side and listened to the silence of the room. Then she realized that she still hadn't changed out of her uniform. She stood up and slipped out of her uniform. Then she set off in search of her harness.

Then the room filled with black smoke and Kurt was standing in front of her. They stared at each other, too stunned to speak.

"I -- uh -- I--" Kurt stammered.

"GET OUT, KURT!" Kiara screamed at him.

"Right," Kurt said. Then he teleported out of the room.

Kiara stood, panting, as she struggled to control the flames that had flared up within her. She couldn't believe that had just happened. Kurt had just seen her…She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. Then she sank to the floor as she was filled with the oddest since of déjà vu. Why did it feel like this -- or something similar to this -- had happened to her before?

Her father must have walked in on her getting dressed before, Kiara decided. Then she dressed quickly without even looking at the clothes she was putting on.

"What?!" Kiara demanded when she opened her bedroom door and saw Kurt standing in the hall.

"I, uh, I," Kurt said in a panicked voice. "_Es tut mir Leid_(1)."

Kiara stared at him for a moment, confused. "What?" she said again.

"It means I'm sorry," Kurt told her. "I'm really, really sorry. That was one of the stupidest things I've ever done, and it will never happen again, I swear. Forgive me."

Kiara scowled at him for a moment. Then she sighed and said, "This never happened."

"Agreed," Kurt said quickly and they linked their pinkies together.

"You're lucky I can't stay mad at you," Kiara said, smiling as she jabbed him in the chest with her index finger.

"Yeah, I know," Kurt said, smiling. "Because I think I would be in the infirmary right now, otherwise."

"Probably," Kiara said, laughing. "What do you want, though?"

"Oh," Kurt said, pretending to be hurt. "I didn't know I needed to reason to come see you."

"You don't," Kiara said, laughing again. "Come in."

"Here," Kurt said, handing her a black book bag as he entered the room. "Jean asked me to give this to you."

"School supplies?" Kiara guessed, closing the door.

"Yup," Kurt said. "Your class schedule is in there, too. They came in the mail today."

"Mine did?" Kiara said as she started rummaging through the bag. "I thought I'd have to take care of that tomorrow."

"The professor arranged it," Kurt told her. "We have second period study hall and sixth period lunch together."

"And I've got first period German," Kiara said, laughing. "Well, that works out perfectly."

She sighed and sat down on the floor next to Kurt.

Kurt watched as her smile faded and her gaze settled on something far away, distant. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"No," Kiara said, looking at him. "I was just thinking that this might be one of the best school years I've had in a long time. But it'll also be the first school year I'll have to go through…" Her voice trailed off.

"Without your father," Kurt said, nodding.

Even though he hated her father, he knew what she was going through. He remembered how upset he had been when he had first realized that he would be leaving his parents behind him in Germany so that he could go to school with a houseful of strangers.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "I mean, he wasn't home much, but he always went to every open house and all that stuff. Because my mom couldn't."

"She died of cancer, right?" Kurt asked her.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "When I was four. On my first day of kindergarten."

"I'm sorry," Kurt said.

And he really was sorry. Because if her mother hadn't died, then maybe, her father wouldn't have been able to abuse her the way he had.

"Don't be," Kiara said, smiling sadly. "It was a long time ago. I barely remember her."

Kurt took a shaky breath. "Kiara," he said, "do you still blame yourself for your father's death?"

Kiara looked at him. It was the second time he had asked her that question in twenty-four hours, but he had to know the answer. He had know what kind of impact yesterday's conversation had had on her.

Kiara sighed and looked away from him. "I don't know," she said, shrugging. "I've been trying not to think about it so much."

Kurt nodded. "That's understandable," he said.

Kiara looked at him, and she looked just as scared as she had been when she found she had to learn how to fly. "I've also been trying to convince myself," she whispered, "that you're right and I'm wrong."

"I am right, Kiara," Kurt told her. "You know I am."

"Do I, Kurt?" Kiara asked him.

"Yes, Kiara," Kurt said. "I know you do."

Kiara put her head on his shoulder as tears began to stream down her cheeks. But that wasn't good enough. It wasn't what she wanted. Somehow, though, Kurt knew what she did want. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her.

This was what she wanted. Kurt frowned as he realized that it was also something he wanted just because it felt so...Right.

Why was that?

Kiara looked up at Kurt. She squinted past the smoke that clouded her vision and stared into his golden eyes. "Why is this so hard?" she asked him.

Kurt wanted to tell her that it was hard because she couldn't remember any of the horrible things her father had done to her. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he couldn't. So, instead, he said, "Things will get better, Kiara. Your wounds will heal."

"How do you know?" Kiara asked him.

"Because I'll make sure they do," Kurt promised her.

"Why would you do that?" Kiara said, confused.

"Because that's what friends do, Kiara," Kurt told her, smiling.

To his surprise, these words only made her cry harder, but she didn't push him away the way he thought she would. He was grateful for that. He couldn't leave. Not now. Not when she was like this. He had to make sure she was okay.

1) Es tut mir Leid: German for I'm sorry.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

21

"Okay," Kitty said, smiling. "You look great. Nice job, Rogue."

"Whatever," Rogue said, picking her bag up off the floor.

"So," Kiara said, turning on her image inducer. "Does this mean I'm allowed outside now?"

"Yup," Kitty said. "Let's go."

Kiara slung her bag over her shoulder and followed the other two out of the room.

"What took you so long?" Kurt said when they met him in the hall.

"Ask Kitty," Kiara said simply.

"Excuse me," Kitty said, "but it's her first day of, like, high school. She has to look perfect."

Kurt took in Kiara's gothy outfit. It did look good on her, especially now that she had her image inducer turned on.

"Okay," Kurt said, "but we should go. The others are waiting."

"Alright," Kitty said. "Let's go then."

"So," Kurt said to Kiara as they walked down the hall. "How are you feeling?"

"Like it's the first day of school," Kiara said, "and I'm the freaky new girl."

"It's your first day as a freshmen," Rogue pointed out. "There are bound to be other freaky new girls."

"How many," Kiara said, "of those girls were featured on a national news bulletin?"

They all paused and there was a long moment of silence.

"My point, exactly," Kiara said.

"Relax, Kiara," Kurt said. "Everything will be fine."

"Right," Kiara said sarcastically. "Of course."

"Look," Kurt said, grabbing her wrist as she started to walk away. "We're your friends. Do you really think we would let anything happen to you?"

"He's right, Kiara," Rogue said. "If someone bothers you, just let us know. We'll put the hurt on 'em."

Kiara stared at the three of them for a moment. It was kind of hard to imagine Kitty putting the hurt on anyone, but she knew Kurt would never let anything happen to her.

"Okay," Kiara said, smiling.

"Hey," Scott said when they met him and Jean in the garage. "You guys ready to go?"

"Totally," Kitty said, climbing into the car.

"Okay," Jean said to Kiara. "Try not to lose control because Principle Kelly is a known mutant-hater."

"No one knows we're mutants, though, right?" Kiara said.

"Yeah," Scott said, starting the car. "And we'd kind of like to keep it that way."

"What if I do accidentally lose control, though?" Kiara asked.

"We would have to wipe the mind of anyone who saw what happened," Jean told her.

"And you might get grounded," Kurt added.

"What about those Brotherhood boys?" Kiara said.

"Bayville High isn't really a big school," Jean said, "so one of us will probably always be nearby if they start messing with you."

"Plus they're idiots," Rogue said, "so they're not all that hard to get rid of."

"Okay," Scott said. "Here we are."

Kiara stared up at the enormous brick building. "I thought you said this wasn't a big school," she said. "It's way bigger than the high school in Jameson."

"Don't worry," Kurt said. "I'll make sure you don't get lost."

Kiara nodded and climbed out of the car. As soon as her foot touched the pavement, she immediately wished that she was back at the Institute. The other students were staring at her. She could feel their eyes on her back. Watching her. Judging her.

There wasn't a single person in this school that didn't know who Kiara was.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Uh, yeah," Kiara said.

"All right," Kitty said. "Smile, Kiara."

Kiara cringed as a blinding white light flashed before her eyes. "Kitty," she cried. "What the hell?!"

"Sorry," Kitty said, laughing, "but I wanted a candid shot." She waved a silver digital camera in Kiara's face.

"Oh, really," Kiara said, smiling. "Can I see?"

"Yeah, sure," Kitty said, handing her the camera.

Kiara examined the camera quickly. Then she deleted the picture without even looking at it.

"Hey," Kitty said, snatching the camera away from her. "What'd you do that for?"

"No pictures," Kiara said firmly. "I don't photograph well."

"Come on, Kiara," Kitty whined. "Please, just let me take one picture -- it's your first day of high school. We have to document it."

"No," Kiara said.

She turned to walk away. Then Kurt grabbed her, pinning her arms securely to her sides.

"Now, Kitty!" Kurt said as Kiara struggled to escape his grip.

Kitty snapped the picture and Kurt released Kiara.

"What the hell, Kurt?!" Kiara demanded, turning to face as she struggled against the fire that had flared up within her.

"Ah, no powers," Kurt said teasingly when he saw the look on her face. "Besides, Kitty is right. This is a special day. Don't you want something to remember it by?"

"No," Kiara said. She lounged at Kitty who was now hiding behind Kurt, waving the camera high above her head.

"There's the bell," Kurt said quickly as he began drag Kiara away from the others. "Time for class."

"I'll print you out a copy later," Kitty called after them.

"Why did you do that?" Kiara asked as Kurt released her.

"I already told you why," Kurt reminded her. "Besides, she would have gotten the picture eventually."

"You can't prove that," Kiara said.

"She can phase through just about anything, Kiara," Kurt said. "Trust me, she hadn't gotten a picture here at school, then she would definitely have gotten one at the mansion."

"Whatever," Kiara muttered as they entered the school.

She paused and looked around. There wasn't much to see. The long hallways were decorated with posters advertising the various school clubs and sports teams, and a long banner that read "Welcome Back, Hawks!" had been hung from the ceiling. It was pretty much the same as her old school. Just much, much bigger. Nothing special.

"I'll walk you to class," Kurt said, smiling as he changed the subject. "Where's your class schedule?"

Kiara reached inside her pocket and pulled out the schedule. Kurt took it from her and started laughing quietly. She had drawn little stars around the first period box, which stated that she had year one German with Mrs. Weitz.

"What?" Kiara asked him.

"Nothing," Kurt said. "I just figured out what your favorite class is."

"Shut up," Kiara said, taking the paper from him.

"Come on," Kurt said. "Your class is this way."

Kiara followed him down the hall. She hid behind him silently as the students followed her with their eyes. She wished they wouldn't stare at her, especially the boys. She hated it when strange boys stared at her. It made her feel uncomfortable.

Kurt smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Kiara looked up at him silently.

"These people are strangers, Kiara," Kurt said. "They don't know anything about you. You shouldn't worry about their opinion so much."

"I just wish they would stop staring at me," Kiara told him. "It's annoying."

"Well, look at it this way," Kurt said. "They're staring at you now, but just imagine what they would do if you weren't wearing your image inducer."

"Yeah," Kiara said. "I'd rather not."

"Good," Kurt said. "Because it wouldn't be pleasant."

"I can believe that," Kiara said, nodding.

"Well, here's your class," Kurt said as they stopped in front of a door. "Try to behave yourself."

"This," Kiara said, "coming from the guy who probably spent half the summer planning out of the prank he's going to play on the Brotherhood boys."

"Actually," Kurt said, smiling, "I had to revise those plans just a little bit since you came along."

"Oh, thanks, Kurt," Kiara said, smiling. "I feel special now."

Kurt's smile faded and his expression became serious. "You _are _special," he told her. "Remember that. I'll see you next period."

Kiara watched silently as he started off down the hall. Then the bell rang and she ducked into her classroom. She took a seat in the back of the room and started looking around the room.

A large German flag and a map of Germany hung on the back wall. A bulletin was decorated with what Kiara assumed were this week's vocabulary words. A list of a classroom rules had written along the length of the whiteboard in the front of the classroom, and two steel cupboards stood tall next to the doorway.

Kiara looked up as a tall woman with dark hair entered the room.

"Hello, class," the woman said. "I am your instructor, Mrs. Weitz."

Kiara reached inside her book bag and pulled out a folder and a five-subject notebook. She watched as Mrs. Weitz grabbed a pile off her desk and began to hand them out.

"Now," Mrs. Weitz said, "we have a lot to do today -- lots of papers to hand out -- so we'll save the formal introductions for tomorrow."

Kiara took the papers the teacher handed her and stared down at them. They all had to do with personal stuff and medical information, but one word in particular caught her eye:

_Parent._

The papers were to be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to school by the next day. Kiara didn't have any parents.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _Fräulein_ Blaze. You weren't supposed to get those."

Kiara looked up to see Mrs. Weitz standing over her.

"I wasn't?" Kiara asked her.

"No," Mrs. Weitz said, taking the papers from her. "Professor Xavier already took care of all that."

"Oh," Kiara said.

The morning announcements came on, but Kiara didn't pay any attention to them.

"Hey," a girl whispered to Kiara. "Hey, you're that girl who was on the news last week or something. Because your house burned down, right?"

Kiara looked up at the girl. "Yes," she said simply.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, frowning. "About what happened to your father."

"So am I," Kiara told her.

When the bell rang to signal the end of first period, Kiara found Kurt waiting for her out in the hall, ready to walk her to class.

"So how was class?" Kurt asked her as they set off down the hall.

Kiara sighed. "You know," she said, "it really should be against the law for teachers to give homework on the first day of school."

"You've got homework already?" Kurt said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "See, as it turns out most the students in the class already took German in middle school, too, so Mrs. Weitz wants us all to introduce ourselves to the class tomorrow. In German."

"Oh, is that all?" Kurt said, smiling. "Don't worry. I can help you with that. I am your tutor, after all."

"Thanks, Kurt," Kiara said, smiling at him. "Really. There's no way I would pass this class without you."

"I should be the one thanking you," Kurt said. "You did say you were taking this class to make _me _happy."

"Yeah," Kiara said as she followed Kurt into a classroom. "I guess I did say that."

"Right, then," Kurt said as they took seats in the back of the room. "Do you have your textbook?"

"Yeah," Kiara said. She reached inside her bag and pulled out her book. "Here."

"All right," Kurt said, taking the book from her.

He flipped through the book until he found the page he was looking for. "Chapter one," he read aloud. "Basic greetings and introductions."

"Right," Kiara said, nodding.

"Now," Kurt said, "repeat after me. _Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze_(1)."

"_Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze_," Kiara said, trying to mimic his accent.

Kurt burst out laughing. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Trying to sound like a German native," Kiara said. "Did it work?"

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "Listen carefully. _Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze_." He said the words again. Slower this time.

"_Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze_," Kiara repeated and the words rolled off her tongue like velvet.

"Hey," Kurt said, laughing. "You got it right that time. Now, try saying this. _Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt_(2)."

"_Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt_," Kiara said, smiling.

"Good job," Kurt said. "You got it right."

"What did I say?" Kiara asked him.

"That your name is Kiara Blaze," Kurt said, "and your fourteen years old. Just say that tomorrow, and you'll be fine."

Kiara took her textbook from him and scanned the page silently. Then she looked up at him and said, "_Was ist Ihr Name_?(3)"

"_Mein Name ist Kurt Wagner_," Kurt said smiling. "But you already knew that."

"Yeah, I did," Kiara said, nodding.

"So why did you ask?" Kurt asked her.

"No reason," Kiara said, shrugging. "I just like hearing you talk in German. It sounds cool."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak. Then the bell rang. Second period was over.

"Walk me to class?" Kiara said, gathering her books.

"Yeah," Kurt said, grabbing his own things. "Of course."

The rest of the day passed much of the same way. Kurt went out of his way to make sure Kiara didn't get lost on her way to class and she clung to him. She clung to him as though he were a shield that could protect from all of the strange people surrounding her. And if he had to protect her, then he would.

Kiara stood outside of her English classroom silently. It was time to go to lunch and she had expected Kurt to walk her to the cafeteria, but he hadn't showed up yet.

Kiara sighed and leaned against the wall. He must have gotten caught up in class or something. Then again, how caught up could a person get on the first day of school?

"Well, well. It looks like we just found the newest X-Dork."

Kiara looked up to see four greasy-looking boys standing in front of her. One of them was skinny with silver-white hair. Another was about the same size of a light-weight sumo-wrestler, and another boy was short with dark hair and greenish skin. The only boy that looked somewhat normal had long, dark hair and was dressed in filthy, torn clothing.

"You're the Brotherhood," Kiara said, scowling at them.

"Ooh," said the boy with green skin. "You're a smart little cutie, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" Kiara said, looking at him.

"Looks like she's not as smart as you thought, Toad," the silver-haired boy said. "She probably isn't as cute as you thought, either."

"What are you talking about?" Toad said. "She looks cute to me."

The silver-haired boy sighed and shook his head. Then he moved in a blur as he ran over to Kiara. "Look," he said, grabbing her wrist. "She's wearing an image inducer."

"I wonder what she looks like when it's turned off," the sumo-wrestler said, laughing.

"It's a watch, stupid," Kiara said, pulling away from the silver-haired boy as she battled against the fire that flared up inside her.

"Oh, please," said the boy in the dirty, torn clothes. "You don't have to lie to us. We know what you really are."

"And," the silver-haired boy said, "we know how that house fire _really _got started."

Kiara stared at them for a moment silently, unsure of how to respond. Of course, they would know she was a mutant. They were mutants, too, and they knew all about the Xavier Institute, but did they really know that she was the cause of the fire?

"Kiara!"

Kiara looked up to see Kurt and Kitty rushing down the hall towards her.

"Oh, calm down, Kitty," said the boy in the torn clothing. "We were just talking."

"Yeah," Kitty said, scowling at him. "Well, like, don't. I told you earlier to, like, leave her alone."

"You know what, Kitty," Kiara said as she turned and started off down the hall. "Don't worry about it. These guys aren't even worth getting upset over."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kurt asked as he and Kitty followed her down the hall.

"No, I'm not alright," Kiara said in a hushed voice. "But I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of knowing that."

"Why?" Kitty said. "What did they, like, say?"

Kiara sighed as they turned a corner. "Nothing really," she said. "It's no big deal. Don't even worry about it."

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "Kiara, we will worry about it -- we are worried about it. It's the first day of school and you already look overwhelmed. That's not normal. Just tell us they said."

"It's nothing big," Kiara said. "I just think that they know what my powers are and I don't like it."

"How would they know that?" Kurt said. Then he looked at Kitty. "You didn't tell Lance, did you?"

"Ew, god, no," Kitty said, frowning.

"They probably just figured it out on their own," Kiara sighed. "I mean, first my house burns down, then I turn up at the Institute. It's probably pretty obvious to other mutants."

"So, like, what's the problem?" Kitty said, looking at her.

Kiara leaned her head against a locker and sank to the floor. She shook her head silently.

"Kiara," Kurt said after a long moment of silence. "Are you afraid of them?"

"Oh, my god, Kurt," Kitty said, laughing. "Give her some, like, credit. No one's afraid of the Brotherhood…" Her smile faded when she saw the look on Kiara's face.

"One of them touched me," Kiara whispered.

"Touched you?" Kurt said. "How -- in a bad way?"

"No, not really," Kiara said, shaking her head. "He just grabbed my wrist and one of them said I was cute --" she laughed weakly "-- any other girl might have taken it as a compliment, but I just…I don't…" Her voice trailed off.

"You're kind of, like, afraid of boys, aren't you?" Kitty said. "Like all boys?"

"Kind of," Kiara admitted. "Yeah."

Kurt exchanged a glance with Kitty. "Kiara," he said, "do you remember what I said this morning?"

"You would never let anything happen to me," Kiara said, nodding.

"Exactly, Kiara," Kurt said, smiling. "So you have nothing to be afraid of."

"Yeah," Kiara said, "but then what am I supposed to do when you aren't around?"

"You know what," Kurt said, "you worry too much. You need a distraction."

"Right," Kiara said. "Any ideas other than school, homework, and training?"

"Yes, actually," Kurt told her. "And I think you'll like it."

1) Mein Name ist…- German for "My name is…."

2) Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt - German for "I'm fourteen years old."

3) Was ist Ihr Name? - German for "What is you's name?"


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

22

Kiara followed Kurt and the others up front the steps of the mansion, exhausted. The rest of the school day had passed quietly and without incident, thankfully. There had been a few mentions of the fire, though, but Kiara had been too distracted by Kurt and her schoolwork to pay much attention to them. Kitty had attempted several times to ambush her with the digital camera again and Kiara's new schoolbooks were much heavier than the ones she had been forced to carry the year before. And the only thing that kept her mind from lingering on the earlier incident was Kurt's promise of a distraction.

"Hey, Blaze," Logan said to Kiara as she walked through the front doors of the mansion. "How was your first day of high school?"

"Boring," Kiara said simply. "Class-wise, anyway."

"Figured as much," Logan said. "Target practice in the Danger Room in ten minutes."

"You're kidding, right?" Kiara said outraged. "I just got here."

"Ten minutes," Logan repeated as he started off down the hall that led to the elevator.

"Nice distraction," Kiara said to Kurt as they started up the grand staircase.

"Welcome to our world," Kitty muttered.

Blaze stood in the center of the Danger Room with her eyes closed.

"Alright, Blaze," Professor Xavier said, "I want you to envision the flames inside you."

Blaze sighed. "I don't need to envision them," she told the professor, opening her eyes. "I already know they're there, so can you please explain to me why I need _two _instructors for target practice?" She gestured to Wolverine.

"I am here to help you keep focused," Professor Xavier said.

"And I'm here to make sure you don't burn down the mansion," Wolverine said, brandishing the fire extinguisher he held in his hand.

Blaze scowled at him. Then she turned back to the professor and said, "I know I need to learn how to focus, but I seriously don't think I'm going to be able to do that with people watching me." She gestured to the control room where several of the others had gathered to observe the lesson.

Why they were at all interested in the progress she made, Blaze didn't know, but there they were anyway, and having them there only made it harder for her to concentrate. Surely Professor Xavier must have known that. He was a telepath, after all.

"Never mind them," Professor Xavier said. "Just focus on summoning your powers."

"Besides," Wolverine said, "do you really think people aren't going to notice you flying around and breathing fire when it's time for you to go on a mission?"

Blaze sighed. She had to admit, he had a good point.

"Now, then," Professor Xavier said. "Focus."

Blaze turned to look at the twelve target signs in front of her and closed her eyes.

"Now," Professor Xavier said. "Can you see the fire burning within you?"

"Yes," Blaze said. "I can see it."

She could feel it, too. She could feel it growing stronger and stronger by the second. The more she focused it, the stronger it grew.

"Let it grow," Professor Xavier said. "Let it grow strong."

"It is growing," Blaze said, "and it's stronger than you think."

"Good," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "Now, I want you to open your eyes and focus on the sign nearest you."

Blaze did as she was told. She opened her eyes and concentrated on the sign closest to her, but the flames were already tearing at her throat, begging to escape.

"Ready," Professor Xavier said. "Now."

Blaze narrowed her eyes as she stared at the sign. The world had vanished into darkness, but the professor's words still echoed in her mind. All that existed was her and that sign. She let the fire grow a little stronger until the burning sensation in the back of her throat was too strong to ignore. Then she released the flames.

They shot through the air, faster than lightening, which stunned her because she had never noticed their speed before, but perhaps that was because she had never concentrated on them so hard before. Despite their speed, however, for a split second they danced in front of her eyes in a blurred combination of red, orange, blue, and yellow. Then they were tearing away at the sign and she was on her knees back in the Danger Room, which was suddenly filled with people. They stood around the fire-proof target sign, watching the fire burn furiously, talking and muttering excitedly.

It took Blaze a moment to realize that they were happy for her. They were happy that she was gaining control.

"I can't believe," Blaze muttered. "I did it."

"Oh, believe it, baby," Kurt said happily. "Look, the proof's right there." He gestured to the burning sign, which Wolverine was now attempting to put out.

"Did he just call her baby?" Blaze heard Rogue mutter quietly.

Blaze stood up and turned to face the professor. "I don't get it," she said. "It was never that easy before. You weren't, like, using your powers to guide the flames or whatever, were you?"

"No," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "This is your own doing, I assure you, and the reason why it was so easy for you this time is because your attention was properly focused and you actually wanted this to happen."

"I didn't want this to happen," Blaze said. "I just wanted the stupid lesson to be over. I mean, I want to learn to control my powers, but I just got home from school, you know?"

"Well," Professor Xavier said, "if it makes you feel any better, you wanted this lesson to be over and now it is." He began to wheel himself towards the door.

"What?" Blaze said. "No, I want to go again. I have to know if I can do it again."

"I'm sorry," Professor Xavier said, "but, no. Not today."

"What?" Blaze said. "Why not?"

"Because, Blaze," Professor Xavier said, "the fire is still too strong for you to control properly. You aren't ready to try anything more extreme at the moment."

"The only reason why it's that strong," Blaze said, "is because I let it get that way, but I can change that. I know I can. So, please, just let have me one more shot at it."

"I'm sorry," Professor Xavier said sternly, "but the answer is still no."

"He's right, Kiara," Beast said, putting his hand on Blaze's shoulder. "If you're winded after just one shot, then chances are you would pass out after two. These things have to be taken slowly. In baby steps. You can understand that, can't you?"

"Fine, then," Blaze said. "I want more training sessions, then. Everyday, after school."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, either," Professor Xavier told her.

"Why not?" Blaze asked him.

"Kiara," Professor Xavier said. "You say that you can control the size of the fire, but you can't. I know this because I believe that had not I been here to help you maintain focus, you would have lost control again. You see, you are a very fragile, emotional person and that's not a bad thing. But you have to learn to control your emotions before you're ready to move on to something more difficult than this. I also know, however, that you are also a very determined person and that, despite what you think, you are gaining control of your powers at a very startling rate, which, again, is not a bad thing. Trust me, you'll be moving on from here in no time."

Blaze stared at the professor. She knew he was right. She had to learn how to control her emotions or she would never get this right. Never. She should have realized that before.

"Yes, professor," Blaze said, looking away from him. "Please, forgive my outburst. It was very rude of me, and I know my father would be very upset with me if he ever saw me treating you this way. Especially after all that you've done for me. I'm very sorry."

Professor Xavier narrowed his eyes at the mention of Blaze's father. He, like everyone else in the mansion, despised the dead man and was glad that he was forever out of her life, but he smiled anyway. "It's alright," he said. "You aren't the first student to grow upset with my decisions and you won't be the last, I assure you. Now, why don't you go change out of your uniform and try to relax some."

Blaze nodded and left the Danger Room. She wasn't at all surprised that her friends hadn't followed after her. She wanted to be alone, anyway. They understood that.

The room was silent for a long time after she left. Usually, Blaze only discussed her father with Kurt. None of the other students had ever heard her mention him aloud, and most of them had forgotten about him after Professor Xavier had forbade them from raising the topic inside the mansion. It was unsettling to hear her mention him now, but what was even more unsettling was the tone of voice Blaze had used when she had mentioned him.

It was so ashamed. So unhappy. So full of pain and grief.

"I can't believe she's still upset over that bastard," Wolverine said, breaking the silence at last.

"You think that's bad," Kurt said, "you should see her when we're alone together. Do you know what it's like trying to tell her that a man like her father got into Heaven?"

"You didn't really tell her that, did you?" Wolverine said, looking at him, disgusted.

"What would you have said?" Kurt asked. "I'm sorry, but your loving father went to Hell and I'm not allowed to tell you why?"

"That probably would have made things worse," Jean agreed.

"Kiara can never know the truth," Professor Xavier said. "You have no idea what it would do to her and neither do I. So I think it would be best if we all just try to forget about what kind of man her father was."

"I'm sorry, professor," Beast said, "but I've seen the physical damage that man has inflicted upon her and it is going to be _very _hard to forget that."

"Well," Professor Xavier sighed, looking at him. "Try."

Kurt shook his head and left the Danger Room with Kitty following close behind him.

Kiara lay on her bed silently, trying to drive the memory of her recently spoken words out of her mind. She hated talking about her father, but she knew she was right. Her father would have been upset with her behavior.

Kiara closed her eyes and began to recite the German Kurt had taught her earlier. She loved the way the words sounded when he spoke them. She couldn't quite understand why because she used think German was an ugly, choppy language, but she just did.

"Hey, Kiara," Kitty said as she phased inside the room. "Look at what I've got."

"Try to take another picture of me and I will throw something at you," Kiara warned her.

"Don't worry," Kitty said, laughing. "I just, like, wanted to give you some copies of the pictures I took."

"You know," Kiara said, sitting up, "when someone threatens you, you aren't supposed to laugh about it."

"Whatever," Kitty said, sifting through the photos. "This one's my favorite." She handed it to Kiara.

Kiara stared down at the picture. Kitty had taken it at the end of school day when Kiara had finally given up on protesting and had agreed to be subjected to the torture that her friends seemed determined to force upon her for who knows what reason. Part of her face was hidden by a curtain of blood-red hair, while the rest of it had been pulled up into a loose ponytail. She hugged her books to chest and Kurt had his arms wrapped around her firmly. It was because of that that her smile looked much less annoyed than she had felt.

"Cute, huh?" Kitty said. "You guys look like a total couple in that picture."

"You're crazy," Kiara said, shoving the picture under her pillow.

"Yeah, whatever," Kitty said, rolling her eyes. "Just, like, keep telling yourself that."

"Is there something else you wanted?" Kiara said, scowling at her.

"Oh, yeah," Kitty said, smiling. "Kurt wants you to come help us. Come on."

"Help you?" Kiara said, standing up. "With what?"

"You'll see," Kitty said as they walked down the hall to Kurt's room.

Kitty knocked on the door once. Then she grabbed Kiara by the arm and phased them both into the room.

"A little warning next time," Kiara said, pulling away from her.

Kiara hated phasing, even though she had only done it a few times.

"Sorry," Kitty said, laughing.

"Ah, there are you," Kurt said, looking up at them from his spot on the floor. "Come here. Look at this."

Kiara walked over to him and stared down at the strange assortment of items that littered the floor. There was a bag of water balloons, three cans of bright pink paint, and several, tiny metal balls.

"Explanation, please," Kiara said after a moment.

"It's the prank I'm pulling on the Brotherhood," Kurt told her.

Kiara stared down at the things for a moment longer and shook her head. "I don't get it," she said, sitting down on the floor.

"These," Kurt said, picking up one of the metal balls, "are miniature time bombs. We're going to fill the balloons with paint, put the bombs in the balloons, and put the balloons in the Brotherhood's lockers at school."

"Okay," Kiara said. "One, that sounds really, really dangerous. Two, where the hell did you get mini time bombs to begin with?"

"We nabbed them from one of the supply closets downstairs," Kitty said, shrugging.

"When you say supply closets," Kiara said, looking at her, "you don't mean one of the closets where they keep the Danger Room props locked up, do you?"

"Yes," Kurt said, sensing the disapproval in her tone, "but they aren't dangerous if that's what you're thinking. They're actually much safer than most of the stuff we use in the Danger Room."

"Calm down, Kurt," Kiara said, smiling at the looking on his face. "I'm in. Let's get started."

"Seriously?" Kurt said, laughing.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "Let's go."

Kurt, Kitty, Kiara, and Rogue stood at the end of a darkened hallway of Bayville High.

"Does someone want to tell me why I'm here?" Rogue said as Kiara peeked around a corner.

"Because you hate the Brotherhood just as much as we do," Kitty told her.

"And we needed a lookout," Kurt added.

"I thought that's what she was," Rogue said, gesturing at Kiara.

"Quiet down," Kiara hissed at them. "The cost is clear as far as I can tell, but there might still be someone here."

Rogue sighed as they grabbed a hold of Kurt and he teleported them down the hall. "Are you sure these are the right lockers?" she asked, lowering her voice to a hush murmur.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kurt said. "I made sure to double check after school."

"All right," Rogue said.

"Here," Kiara said, throwing the book bag of balloons/bombs to Kurt.

"Don't throw it," Kitty said, catching it.

"I thought you said the bombs were safe," Kiara said.

"They are," Kitty said, "but you still, like, can't throw them."

"Sorry," Kiara said, "but I don't usually play with explosives."

"You know from now on," Kurt said, "why don't I just handle the explosives?"

"You know," Kiara said, watching Kitty unzip the bag, "I'm starting to think this is a bad idea."

"It's not a bad idea," Rogue said. "Just a stupid one. If I wanted to mess around with bombs, I could be out with Gambit right now."

"I thought you guys were in the middle of a fight," Kurt said, looking up at her.

"We made up," Rogue said.

"Seriously, you guys," Kiara said, looking up and down the hallway. "What are the odds of us getting caught?"

"Not good," Kurt assured her. "I've done this a million times and I never got caught."

Kiara nodded and watched as Kitty phased the last of the balloons/bombs into a locker.

"Okay," Kitty said. "I'm all --"

"Shh!" Kiara said. "Listen. Do you hear that?"

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Footsteps," Kiara whispered.

"Let's go," Kurt said, grabbing the bag off the floor.

They grabbed onto him quickly. There was a puff of smoke and then they were standing outside, half a mile up the road.

"Do you think Professor Xavier knows you guys took those bombs?" Kiara said, sitting down on the curb of the road.

"Don't worry," Kurt said. "I think he's got other things to worry about other than a few missing time bombs that have got about as much destructive force as a box of party-poppers."

"Party-poppers?" Kiara said, looking up at him. "That's it, seriously?"

"Yeah," Kitty said. "Why do you think we needed so, like, many of them?"

Kiara shrugged silently as Rogue started walking up the sidewalk.

"Where are you going?" Kitty asked her.

"Home," Rogue said. "Back to the mansion."

"Well, wait up," Kurt said. "I'll teleport us back."

"No, thanks," Rogue said. "I'd rather walk."

"Aren't the front gates usually locked by now?" Kiara asked Kurt.

"I offered," Kurt said, shrugging.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

23

"I can't believe y'all just left me out there," Rogue said the next morning.

"Kurt offered to, like, teleport you back here with the rest of us," Kitty reminded her. "And you said no."

"Yeah," Kiara said grumpily. "We all know what happened. Can we go now?"

"What's your problem?" Rogue said. "I'm the one who got locked outside."

"I'm sorry," Kiara said, collapsing onto her bed, "but I got, like, zero sleep last night. I'm exhausted."

"Oh," Kitty said, frowning. "Well, are you sure you want to go to school, then?"

"I'm not going to skip school," Kiara said, turning on her image inducer, "just because a stupid prank messed up my sleeping pattern. That would mean I was lazy, which I'm not."

"Okay," Kitty said. "Let's go."

"Yay," Kiara said, picking her bag up off the floor. "Time for school."

She slung her bag over her shoulder and followed the other two out of the room. Then she almost collided with Kurt, who was waiting for her in the hall as usual.

"Are you alright, Kiara?" Kurt asked, grabbing her by her shoulders to keep her from falling over.

"I'm fine," Kiara said, smiling. "Just tired."

Kurt examined her for a moment. Even when Kiara was well-rested, she still had dark bags under her eyes, but they were darker today and looked shocking against her pale skin. He reached out silently and wiped some sleep out of her eye.

"Hey," Rogue called to them from the end of the hall. "Are y'all two lovebirds coming or are you just going stand there all day?"

Kurt sighed while Kiara scowled at her. Then he teleported the two of them to the garage before she had a chance to retort.

"Hey," Scott said, looking up at them from the driver's seat of his convertible. "Where are Kitty and Rogue -- they aren't walking today, are they?"

"Nah," Kiara said. "We ditched them. They're on their way down now."

"Ditched them?" Scott said, frowning. "Why would you do that?"

"They were teasing you again," Jean said as she entered the garage. "Weren't they?"

"Don't they always?" Kurt said, climbing into the car. "It's starting to get a bit annoying."

"A bit?" Kiara said with raised eyebrows. "Try very."

"I know what you mean," Jean said, smiling. "You have no idea how annoying it used to be for Scott and me, but you learn to ignore it. Eventually."

"Yeah," Scott said, nodding, "but it would help if you guys didn't spend so much time acting like a couple."

"We don't act like a couple," Kiara said, climbing into the car.

Kiara leaned her head against Kurt's shoulder and closed her eyes. He wrapped his arms firmly around her and began to stroke her hair.

"Right," Scott said as Kitty and Rogue entered the garage.

"Okay," Kitty said. "We're, like, ready to go now."

"Great," Scott said, starting the car. "Let's go."

"Alright, Kiara," Kurt said. "Do you remember what I taught you for class today?"

"Yes," Kiara said. "Yes, I remember, I promise."

"_Was ist Ihr Name(1)_?" Kurt asked her.

"_Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze(2)_," Kiara said.

"And?" Kurt said.

Kiara sighed and said, "_Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt(3)_."

"Good," Kurt said. "You remember."

"Told you," Kiara said, smiling.

"What do you, like, remember?" Kitty asked her.

"How to introduce myself in German," Kiara said. "Kurt taught me how to do it yesterday."

"Yeah," Kurt said. "It was easy once she stopped mocking my accent."

Kiara frowned and pulled away from him. "I wasn't mocking it," she said. "I was mimicking it. There's a difference."

"Not when you do it," Kurt informed her.

"Shut up," Kiara said, pushing him playfully.

"Alright, guys," Scott said. "We're here."

"Hey," Kurt said, getting out of the car. "Do you guys want to go watch the Brotherhood open their lockers?"

"Oh, my god," Jean said. "What did you guys do?"

"Come, like, find out," Kitty said, smiling.

Jean exchanged a look with Scott before they began to follow after the four under-classmen. They rushed into the school building and turned a corner. Then --

BOOM!

"Ah, man," Kurt said as the hall began to fill with smoke. "We missed the explosion."

"Explosion?!" Scott demanded, looking at him. "What the hell did you guys do?!"

"Look," Kiara said as the smoke began to clear. "There they are."

The others turned to look at where she was pointing.

From where they stood, they could see the Brotherhood standing at their lockers, shocked. The doors of the lockers ashen and dented, and charred fragments of balloons and school supplies littered the hallway. The boys stood in front of their lockers, mouths agape and completely covered in bright pink paint.

"As much destructive force as a box of party-poppers," Kiara said, looking at Kurt as she quoted his words from the night before. "You said those bombs had as much destructive force as a box of party-poppers."

"Maybe we used a few too many?" Kurt said, smiling weakly.

"You think?" Kiara said, scowling.

Then she fell forward and grabbed onto him as the entire building began to shake. Then the shaking grew violent and she was on her knees in an instant with her books spilling out of her bag. All around her, there were screams and cries of panic.

"What's going on?" Kiara called, struggling to be heard over all the noise.

"It's Lance," Kitty shouted to her.

Kitty stood up and stumbled over to her ex-boyfriend. "What the hell are you doing, Lance?!" she demanded.

Lance looked at her and the shaking stopped abruptly. "You did this, didn't you?" he said. "You and your little friends are the ones behind this, aren't you?"

"Oh, please," Kitty said, crossing her arms. "As if we would be, like, so immature."

"Don't listen to her, Lance," Pietro said, racing over to them. "She's obviously trying to play you. Again."

"Oh, yeah?" Kitty said, scowling at him. "Prove it."

"Well," Pietro said, "I can't, but --"

"Lay off, Pietro," Lance said. "If she says she didn't do it, then she didn't do it. I believe her."

"Told you so," Kitty said, smiling. "Bye."

"He makes earthquakes?" Kiara asked Kitty once she rejoined them.

"Yeah," Kitty said, "but don't, like, worry. I've got that boy, like, wrapped around my finger."

"Yeah, I'll say," Kurt said, smiling. "Nice job."

"Yeah, nice," Jean said sarcastically. "Go to class and stop causing to trouble. I'd hate to have to report you to the professor."

"Later," Scott said as he turned to follow Jean down the hall.

"I'm going to class," Kiara said.

"Great," Kurt said. "I'll walk you there."

"You know," Kiara said as they walked down the hall. "I don't think I'll be pulling anymore pranks on the Brother anytime soon."

"What?" Kurt said. "You aren't going to help me anymore -- why not?"

"I would rather not get killed in an earthquake," Kiara told him, smiling.

"You're worried about Lance?" Kurt said, smiling. "Seriously?"

"I'm worried about anyone who can start earthquakes of their own free will," Kiara said as they paused outside her classroom.

"Well, don't be," Kurt said. "Kitty can take care of Lance and those other three couldn't beat us even if they tried. Which they have."

Kiara nodded as the bell rang. "Go to class," she told him. Then she went inside her own classroom and took her seat in the back of the room.

"Alright," Mrs. Weitz said once the morning announcements were over. "Today, I would like all of you to introduce yourselves to us in German. Who would like to go first?"

Kiara raised her hand silently. She didn't actually want to go first. She just wanted to get this done and over with as soon as possible.

"Go ahead," Mrs. Weitz said, pointing to her.

Kiara stood up and walked to the front of the class, perfectly aware of the eyes on her back. She stared down at her shoes, unwilling to meet the stares of her judgmental classmates.

Kiara cleared her throat and said, "_Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze. Ich bin vierzehn Jahre alt_."

The room was silent and she knew that the students were wondering why she had told them that. They were wondering why she hadn't told them something else. Something they didn't know.

"Okay," Mrs. Weitz said after a moment. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?"

"_Nein_," Kiara said, shaking her head.

"You may be seated then, _Fräulein_," Mrs. Weitz told her.

Kiara nodded and went back to her seat. She reached inside her bag and pulled out her notebook and a pen.

All of the other students had a lot more to say than Kiara did, but, considering she could only understand a few words of what they saying, she didn't pay them much attention. Instead she drew and drew and drew. Until the bell rang.

"Hey," Kurt said when she met him in the hall. "How was class?"

"It was okay," Kiara said. "I didn't really have a lot to do since we only had to introduce ourselves to the class."

"If you didn't have any work to do, then what's that?" Kurt said, pointing to her notebook.

Kiara hugged her notebook a little closer to her chest as they walked down the hall. "Back in Jameson," she said, "I used to draw when I got bored."

"Oh, is that what that is?" Kurt said. "Let me see."

"No," Kiara said, as they turned inside their study hall. "I don't think so."

Kurt sighed as they took their seats in the back of the room. Then he reached out and snatched the notebook away from her.

"Hey!" Kiara cried, attempting to take it back from him.

Kurt ignored her and stared down at the drawing in front of him. It was a very detailed ink drawing of him in his true form and the word "Nightcrawler" had been scribbled across the top of the page in loopy cursive handwriting.

"This is amazing, Kiara," Kurt said. "_You _drew this?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, "and it wasn't easy. I suck at ink sketches and I had draw it from memory. Thanks for sounding so surprised, by the way."

"Well," Kurt said quickly, sensing the hurt in her voice. "I just never expected you to be artsy type."

"It's alright," Kiara said, sighing. "No one ever does. You can keep the drawing."

"What, are you sure?" Kurt said, looking at her. "I mean, it's your drawing."

"No, go ahead," Kiara said. "Keep it. I shouldn't have done it without your permission anyway."

"My permission?" Kurt said. "Why would you would that?"

"I don't know," Kiara said, shrugging. "In case someone saw it or something?"

"Oh, right," Kurt said, frowning. "I hadn't thought of that."

Kiara smiled and took the notebook from him. She scribbled her signature across the bottom of the page and tore it out of the notebook.

"Just do me a favor," Kiara said, handing the drawing to him, "and don't show this to Kitty."

"Right," Kurt said, smiling.

Kurt lay on his bed silently, staring at the drawing Kiara had done of him. It really was an amazing work of art. She had gotten everything right. It was, as far as he could tell, flawless.

"Hey," Kitty said, phasing into the room. "Do you think you could…" Her voice trailed off when her eyes landed on the drawing in Kurt's hand.

"Could I what?" Kurt said, sitting up.

"Never mind," Kitty said, walking over to him. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Kurt said, folding up the drawing. "Really. It's nothing."

"Right," Kitty said, grabbing the drawing before he could shove it under his pillow.

Kitty examined the picture for a moment. "Wow, this is good," she said. "Really good. Kiara drew this -- I didn't know she was an artist."

"Me neither," Kurt said. "I, actually, just found out this something."

"That's weird," Kitty said, frowning. "Normally, she tells you everything." She scowled at him and folded her arms across her chest. "Why haven't I seen this yet?"

"Because," Kurt said, taking the drawing from her, "Kiara asked me not to show it to you because she knows you'd make a big deal out of it, even though it doesn't mean anything."

"This does so mean something, Kurt," Kitty said, sitting down on the floor. "God, are you, like, totally dense?"

"You think all guys are dense," Kurt reminded her, "but what does that have with anything?"

"First of all," Kitty said, "I never said that all guys are dense. Second of all, don't you think it's a little weird that Kiara goes around drawing insanely awesome pictures of, like, you, of all people?"

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "Not really. Why, should I?"

"Uh, yes," Kitty said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, Kiara could have drawn a picture of anyone or anything. And, yet, she chose to draw a picture of you. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know," Kurt said. "I'm not exactly a mind-reader, you know."

"Right, right," Kitty said, nodding. "I'll tell you why it is. It is because that you and Kiara are practically a couple and everyone knows it, even though the two of you are in complete and total denial. Which is, like, totally stupid, by the way, because the two of you would make, like, a perfect couple."

"Kitty," Kurt said, leaning his head against the wall. "We've been over this before. Kiara and I don't like each other that way. We aren't going to get together."

"Oh, please, Kurt," Kitty scoffed. "You guys are all over each other. You're, like, constantly groping each other and trying to make it seem like it's casual when it obviously isn't."

"Okay," Kurt said. "One, we do not grope each other -- whatever that means. Two, did you ever stop to think that, maybe, you're just over-thinking things and jumping to conclusions again. Just like I told you not to."

"I'm not over-thinking things, Kurt," Kitty told him. "Kiara's been here for, like, two weeks and you know more about her than the professor does. She falls asleep in your arms, she's learning to speak German because she wants to make you happy, and now she's drawing totally awesome pictures of you when she could be drawing equally awesome pictures of anything else in the world. That girl is, like, falling in love with you."

"No, Kitty," Kurt said, getting to his feet, suddenly angry. "No, she isn't. No one falls in love with this." He gestured to his furry, blue body.

"No normal person would, maybe," Kitty said, pushing herself to her feet. "Kiara isn't normal, though. I mean, she is, but she isn't. She was abused, she's a mutant, and she's training to be an X-Man. And you make her happy. So why does it bother you that she loves you so much?"

"Because, Kitty," Kurt said, turning to face her. "She doesn't. She just doesn't and I don't love her, either. In not in the way you're thinking, anyway."

"Yes, you do, Kurt," Kitty said, "and she loves you. I know she does, Rogue knows she does -- everyone knows how you two feel about each other. Including you. I know you do."

Kitty turned and started to walk away from him. She was half way to the door before she turned and said, "Don't fold that drawing up anymore. It's a good picture and the creases'll ruin it. So just, like, hang it up or frame it or something, but don't fold it, okay?"

She sighed and phased out of the room.

Kurt sighed and looked down at the drawing in his hand. Kitty was right about one thing. It was a good drawing and the creases would ruin it.

He walked over to his desk and pulled open a drawer. He rummaged through it silently until he found a thumb-tack. Then he went over to his bed, and pinned the drawing above his headboard.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

24

Kurt walked Kiara to her German class silently. Ever since his last conversation with Kitty, he had started to see Kiara in a different light. He found himself watching her. Searching for any possible sign that Kitty might be right.

And he didn't know why.

Kiara sighed as they paused outside her German classroom. "Are you alright?" she asked him. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," Kurt said. "Why?"

"Well," Kiara said, "you haven't said two words to me all morning, and you stared at me the whole ride here. Why? Did I do something wrong -- are you mad at me? Because of the drawing or --?"

"_Nein_, Kiara," Kurt said. "Of course not. I love the drawing you know that, and you know I could never be mad at you. For anything. I'm just --" he remembered her own excuse from the day before " -- I'm tired, that's all. I'm not mad at you. I swear."

Kiara studied his face for a moment, trying to detect the lie and Kurt could see the fear in her eyes. The fear that he was angry at her for some unknown reason. That she would lose him.

"Alright," Kiara said, nodding. "I'll see you second period."

"Kiara," Kurt said as she turned away from him. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. "I'm not mad at you. I promise."

Kiara stared up at him as his hand lingered at the base of her neck.

Kurt cupped her cheek in one of his hands and stared into her eyes, which were so much prettier in their true form. She looked so upset. So confused.

What could she possibly be thinking?

"I promise," Kurt repeated, smiling.

Then, to his relief, Kiara smiled back at him. "Right," she said, looking reassured. "I'll see you in study hall."

Kiara stepped inside her classroom just as the bell was ringing.

"_Guten Morgen_(1)," Mrs. Weitz said. "Today, class, I would like you all to get acquainted with each other. So pair up with the person next to you, and consider this a review of what most of you already know. Now, please."

Kiara turned to face the person sitting next to her and frowned. The person sitting next to her was jock-looking boy with blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair.

Kiara hated talking to strange boys.

"_Hallo(2)_," the boy said. _"Mein Name ist Nick Crenshaw. Was ist Ihr Name_?"

Kiara frowned at the sound Nick's awkward German. The words sounded so much better when Kurt said them.

"_Hallo, wie geht es Ihnen?_" Kiara said, smiling when she realize that her German actually sounded better than his. It was probably because she spent so much time practicing with Kurt. "_Mein Name ist Kiara Blaze_."

"Uh, this is my time first taking German," Nick said, laughing. "So I'm not really sure about the first part. What you said, I mean."

"Oh," Kiara said, laughing. "I just asked how you were. See, I'm best friends with guy from Germany so --"

"Kurt Wagner, yeah," Nick said, nodding. "I've seen the two of you hanging out. Best friends, though. I kind of thought you guys were a couple."

Kiara scoffed. "You, too?" she said in disbelief. "Why does everyone always think that?"

"It's probably just because you guys spend so much time together," Nick told her. "I'm really sorry that your dad died when your house burned down. I heard about it on the news a little while ago, but you probably don't want to talk about that, huh?"

"No," Kiara said. "Not really."

"Yeah, sorry," Nick said. "Anyway, what's it like over at the Xavier Institute -- I don't really know a lot about it. No one does, actually. Unless you live there."

"It's nice," Kiara said. "Everyone's really nice. It's a good place for people like me."

"What do you mean?" Nick said, frowning. "People like you?"

"Oh, um, just people with nowhere to go," Kiara said, thinking quickly. "You know, Professor Xavier -- he kind of takes in kids like that. Run-aways and stuff. That's what the Institute is all about."

"Oh," Nick said, smiling. "For a minute, I thought you meant, like -- you know, mutants. Not that I have a problem with mutants…" His voice faltered when he saw the look on her face.

"There are no mutants at the Xavier Institute," Kiara told him. "Not that I know of, anyway, and even if there were, I would still love it there."

"Right," Nick said. "No, mutants are cool. They're awesome. I mean, I don't know any, but…So why are you at the Institute? I mean, you arrived there the day of the fire, right, so you must have some other reason for being there, other than being homeless. Right?"

"I'm not homeless," Kiara said, "but back in California, my dad used to work a lot. He was never at home. He just thought the Institute would be a good place for me."

"Right," Nick said, nodding. "Right."

The bell rang.

Kiara stood up and gathered her things. "This has been fun," she said, smiling.

"Kiara, wait," Nick said, following after her.

"Hey," Kiara said to Kurt. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Kurt said when he saw Nick rushing towards them.

"Kiara," Nick said, ignoring Kurt. "I'm really, really sorry if I offended you. Really. But it's just that you're new here and you were on the news. I just didn't know what to talk about. I'm really sorry."

"Nick, it's okay," Kiara said, smiling. "Really. Go to class. I'll see you Monday."

"Right," Nick said, nodding. Then he started off down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Who was that guy?" Kurt said, scowling at Nick as he disappeared down the hall.

"Nick Crenshaw," Kiara said, scowling. "The idiot I was forced to converse with this morning."

"What did you guys talk about?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, you know," Kiara said. "The Institute, me being homeless, and his love for mutants."

"Wait," Kurt said, pausing in the hallway. "You didn't tell him that there were mutants at the Institute, did you?"

"No, of course not," Kiara said. "What, are you crazy? I told him the Institute was a home for, like, run-aways and stuff."

"Good," Kurt said. "That's what everyone says."

"Yeah," Kiara said. "Trust me, Kurt, I would never tell anyone about the Institute. Never and that guy is the last person I would ever make friends with."

"Good," Kurt said. "I don't like him."

"Oh, my god, you guys," Kitty said, sitting down at the lunch table. "You are never going to believe what I just found out about."

"Let me guess," Kiara said, smiling. "There's a half-off sale at the mall?"

"No," Kitty said, frowning, "but that would be great. No, seriously, though, check this out." She reached inside her binder and pulled out a pink flyer.

"A back-to-school dance?" Jean said, taking the flyer from her. "Already -- we're only three days into the school year. That was fast."

"Yeah," Rogue said. "Talk about zero warning. It's only in two weeks. Gambit will never be able go."

"And that's a bad thing?" Kurt said, laughing humorlessly.

"You know he's through with Magneto," Rogue said, scowling at him.

"It's not like his day-job is much better," Kurt said.

"What's his day-job?" Kiara asked.

"He's a thief-for-hire," Kurt said, looking at her.

"Ah," Kiara said. "I see. Interesting."

"Anyway," Kitty said, changing the subject quickly. "We're going dress shopping this weekend. All of us."

"You guys are," Kiara told her. "I'm not."

"Why not?" Jean asked her. "Don't you like dances?"

"I've never been to one," Kiara said, shrugging.

"You didn't get out much back in Jameson, did you?" Scott asked her.

"No," Kiara said, frowning. "Not really."

"Wait," Kitty said. "How could you have never been to a school dance?"

"No one ever invited me," Kiara said. "School outcast, remember?"

"Well, that's what you used to be," Kitty said, smiling, "but not anymore. I mean, what if someone here invited you -- like the boy you like?"

"I'm going to the library," Kiara said, standing up.

"What?" Kitty said. "Why?"

"To study in peace," Kiara said as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Bye, Kurt."

"Kiara--" Kurt said, getting to his feet, but she just ignored him and continued on her way.

"I think you upset her," Jean said, watching Kiara stalk out of the cafeteria.

"Why would you think that?" Kitty asked her.

"It's the third day of school," Kurt reminded her. "What could she possibly have to study for?"

"Whatever," Kitty said. "You should ask her to the dance."

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "I'm not asking her."

"Oh, why not, Kurt?" Rogue said. "She's never been to a dance. I think it would be sweet of you take her to her first one."

"Since when," Kurt said, looking at her, "are you so in touch with your feminine side?"

"Excuse me," Rogue said, scowling, "but what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Kurt said, "that ever since Kiara got here, you've been acting just like her!" He gestured to Kitty.

"Oh, no," Rogue said as she stood up and took off one of her gloves. "You did not just say that to me, little brother."

"Alright, guys," Jean said quickly, jumping between the two of them. "Calm down. There's no reason for either of you to try and kill each other, so just calm down."

"Look," Kurt said, "why do you guys care about what happens between me and Kiara, anyway? It's none of your business and it's obviously upsetting her. She wouldn't have reacted that way if it wasn't."

"We care," Kitty said, "because we want you to be happy, that's all. Besides, it's totally obvious that you guys belong together."

"Yes, well," Kurt said, "I think Kiara's made it pretty clear that she doesn't think so."

"You don't know that," Kitty said.

"Look, Kurt," Scott said. "You like Kiara, right, so just ask her to the dance."

"Yeah," Jean said, "it doesn't have to be a date. You guys can go together just as friends."

"Yeah," Rogue said, putting her glove back on. "You don't have to make a big deal about it."

Kurt sighed and sat back down again. "Just as friends?" he said.

"Yeah," Kitty said. "Just as friends."

"Alright," Kurt said. "I'll think about it, but just as friends. Nothing more."

"Oh, yes, Kurt!" Kitty said, phasing through the table without thinking. She threw her arms around him happily. "Kiara is totally going to say yes. I just, like, know it."

"Not if she thinks you and I are dating," Kurt said, pushing her away from him. "Now, calm down before I change my mind."

1)Guten Morgen - German for good morning.

2)Hallo - German for hi or hello.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

25

In the New York State MRD Central Headquarters, Mystique sat silently at the desk of MRD scientist Diana Joseph.

Of course the real Diana Joseph had been killed two months ago when Mystique had managed to infiltrate the MRD. Her reason for doing was simple. It all had to do with the fact that Ms. Diana Joseph was one of the many scientists working on the rumored "Project Sentinel."

What, exactly, Project Sentinel was, Mystique didn't know, but, according to Magneto, it was bad. Especially for mutants and, so far, he was right. In just two short months, Mystique had witnessed some two hundred mutants being carted into various MRD labs and testing facilities.

None of them came back out.

Mystique scrolled through the files on Ms. Joseph's computer, but she was a low-ranking scientist so there wasn't much there.

Mystique sighed. She was going to have to find another role to play soon. Then the questioning would begin.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Mystique sighed again and turned on the speaker phone. "Hello, Pietro," she said. "How're things back in Bayville?"

"Not good," Pietro told her. "There's a new mutant in town called Kiara Blaze."

"And let me guess," Mystique said. "Xavier got to her first."

"You got that right, which kind of sucks because we actually could have used this one."

"Why?" Mystique said, closing out the files she had opened on the computer. "What are her powers?"

"She's a pyro. Duh. Geez, I can't believe you haven't heard of this girl."

"Should I have?" Mystique asked him.

"Yes," Pietro scoffed. "She was all over the news just a little while ago. She burned her house down and killed her dad. It was probably an accident, though, since she's playing by Xavier's rules."

"Hmm." Mystique considered this for a moment. Then she said, "That may not be true. This girl may be more like us than you think. What are the odds of her switching teams?"

"Not good. Especially considering the fact that she's all over that blue freak Kurt Wagner. She's like a lost dog or something. Wherever he goes, she goes. It's disgusting."

Mystique scowled at the mention of her son. "What else do you know about her?"

"Not much. Only that she wears an image inducer, so she's probably more than just a pyro."

"I see," Mystique said. "I'll run a search on her and see what I can find out. I'll forward the information to you afterwards."

"Why bother? What do you think you're going to find -- her high school transcripts?"

"Everyone has secrets, Pietro," Mystique said, sighing, "and there's more than one way to break an X-Man. Which is exactly what we're going to have to do if we want to take down the MRD. See what you can find out about this girl in the meantime."


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

26

Blaze lay silently on the grassy cliff top. It was Sunday morning and after being dropped from twenty feet in the air, she was not happy.

"How much longer are we going to do this for?" Blaze asked Angel.

"Until you manage to land on your feet without falling down," Angel said as he touched down in front of her. "Now, get up so we try again."

"I don't see what the point is," Blaze said, standing up. "I'm obviously not good at it."

"You would be a lot better at it," Angel told her, "if you weren't afraid to try."

"Well," Blaze said as the fire flared up inside her. "Maybe I wouldn't be so afraid if you didn't keep dropping me out of the air over a cliff that's surrounded by a substance that could kill me in about five seconds."

"Look," Angel said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You want to be an X-Man, don't you?"

Blaze sighed and said, "You know I do."

"Then you have to learn to face your fears," Angel said.

"I am facing my fears," Blaze said, smiling miserably. "I'm just not enjoying it."

"No one enjoys facing their fears," Angel said, "but it has to be done." He grabbed her by her arm and lifted her high into the air.

"Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god, oh, god," Blaze said as they rose higher and higher into the air.

Then, by force of habit, she pressed her wings against her back and closed her eyes. She didn't know why she bothered doing this anymore. It was probably because she was hoping against hope that Angel wouldn't drop her if she showed him how scared she was. He always did, though, and she always hated him for it afterwards.

"Never close your eyes," Angel reminded her over the roar of the wind. "If you're going to learn how to fly, you can't be afraid of heights."

Blaze opened her eyes and scowled up at him. Then he dropped her.

Blaze's wings spread wide automatically. Then she somehow managed to curve her body upwards, so that she was suddenly flying upwards in a perfectly straight line. The wind rushed past her and roared her ears, deafening her, but when she looked around all she see was the sky. Clear, blue sky panned out around her in every direction. Everything else had disappeared.

Then Blaze looked down and realized that she was actually higher up than Angel.

For one split second, Blaze was gliding through the air. Then she was falling. Falling faster than she had ever fallen before because she had never been up that high before, and she wasn't going to hit the ground.

"Blaze!" Angel shouted as he dove after her, but he wasn't fast enough.

Blaze cried out as she crashed into the water and smoke clouded her vision. Her body ached as though she had been slammed into a mountain and her insides were burning. The flames tore at her throat, but nothing came out. They were trapped within her.

Blaze tried to move against the icy current, but she couldn't remember how to swim and she couldn't tell one direction from another. Nothing was right anymore. None of it made sense.

Where was Angel?

Where was the cliff?

Where was the mansion?

Blaze didn't know. She was lost and too scared to think straight. She opened her mouth to scream. Then, finally, the flames poured out of her and her mouth was flooded with water as the current dragged her under. She didn't know what to do. She had lost sight of everything of now. Water was all that she could see now and the current was much too strong. It pushed her in every direction and the more she struggled, the worse it got. It was over. There was nothing she could do.

Blaze was never going to make it out of this. She was going to die. She was dying.

Blaze closed her eyes and smashed into something, but she didn't know what it was.

Then the water was gone and she could hear Kurt calling to her.

Kiara was in the infirmary when she woke up. She tried to move, but her body ached and it hurt too much to do so. She looked around and saw that the door had been left ajar. She could hear voices coming in from the hall:

Professor Xavier, Beast, and Angel.

They sounded worried.

Kiara turned her gaze away from the door and saw Kurt sitting in a chair next to her bed, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. His eyes were closed, but his lips were moving rapidly and he was speaking quietly.

Kiara strained her ears to hear what he was saying. Then she realized that she couldn't understand him. Kurt was speaking in German.

"What are you saying?" Kiara asked him, and her voice came out in a raspy, hushed whisper. She had taken in too much salt water.

Kurt looked up at her, startled. "Kiara," he said, smiling, "you're awake. I was just saying a prayer for you."

"You pray?" Kiara said with raised eyebrows. "I didn't know you were religious."

Kurt reached into his shirt and pulled out a tiny ornate-looking cross on a golden chain. "Catholic," he said simply.

"Nice," Kiara said, smiling. "You know, I honestly can't remember the last time I set foot in a church, but thank you for praying for me."

"Ah, Kiara, you're awake I see."

Kurt and Kiara looked up to see the others coming inside the room.

Beast was the one who had spoken.

"Yeah," Kiara said, smiling. "Yeah, I am." She gasped and cringed as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Stop that," Kurt told her. "You'll hurt yourself."

"I'm fine, Kurt," Kiara assured him. "Just sore, I guess."

"Just be careful, alright?" Kurt said. "You were nearly killed."

"Hence my waking up in the infirmary," Kiara said, nodding. "Makes sense."

"Kurt is right, Kiara," Professor Xavier said sternly. "Your life is not a joke, and we're all very thankful that you weren't seriously injured."

"Yes," Beast said. "We are and there's no telling what would have happened if your uniform wasn't waterproof. It didn't help much, though, seeing as you nearly drowned."

"Nearly," Kiara repeated. "How did I get out of the water? I mean, I remember being in the water and then -- it was just gone. What happened -- who got me?"

"Kurt did," Angel said, smiling. "I tried to get to you, but Kurt saw what happened and got there first."

"You saved me?" Kiara asked Kurt, looking at him.

"Of course I did," Kurt said, smiling. "What, do you think I would have just left you there?"

"No," Kiara said, smiling. "Of course not."

"Yes, well," Professor Xavier said, "I think it's fairly safe to say that you will be avoiding the ocean during your flight lessons from now on."

"Seriously?" Kiara said, laughing. "Yes, I don't want to go anywhere near that stupid cliff for as long as I live."

"That doesn't mean that you can avoid water completely," Professor Xavier reminded her. "Overcoming your fears is still a required part of your training."

"Yeah, I know," Kiara said, her smile fading.

"You were great out there today, though," Kurt told her. "Other than the drowning."

"He's right," Angel said, nodding. "You were actually flying out there for a minute or two."

"Yeah," Kiara said. "Then I panicked, crashed, and drowned. Loads of fun."

"Yeah," Angel said, frowning. "So just try to focus on landing next time."

"Right," Kiara said, nodding.

"So," Beast said. "Do you think you're well enough to go up to your room or do you want to spend the night down in here?"

"I'm fine," Kiara said. "I can go to my room, but what about the rest of my lessons?"

"Are you crazy?" Kurt said. "There's no way you can do anymore training today. It's just going to have to wait until later."

"And," Beast said when Kiara opened her mouth to protest, "you know it's not good for your powers if you take in too many liquids all at once. So you've burned yourself out for, at least, three days."

"So what am I supposed to do about my training?" Kiara asked.

"Calm down," Kurt said. "You're just going to be doing some regular lessons with the rest of us. No powers allowed."

"Oh," Kiara said, "you mean like during that game of dodge ball?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, frowning. "Like that."

"Sounds fun," Kiara said, cringing as she stood up.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kurt asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kiara said, "but I think that uniform needs just a bit more waterproofing. That's probably why everything hurts so damn much."

"Still," Kurt said, grabbing her arm as she started to walk away from him, "I would feel better if you let me take you to your room."

"Yes," Beast said. "I, also, think that would be a good idea. Then I would suggest that you try to get as much rest as possible."

"Don't worry," Kurt told him. "I'll make sure she does."

Then he and Kiara disappeared from the room in a cloud of smoke.

The two of them landed safely on Kiara's bed.

Kurt stood up and pushed Kiara down on the bed, forcing her to lay down. He stood over her for a moment and stared down at her. She looked like she was in so much pain, but even if she was, he knew she would never admit to it. He knew she wanted him to be happy, so he wouldn't push the subject.

Kurt sighed and sat down on the floor beside her bed.

Kiara reached out and grabbed the chain that hung around Kurt's neck. She pulled the cross out his shirt. "So," she said. "Thank you for praying for me."

"You already said that," Kurt reminded her.

"You never said I was welcome," Kiara said, smiling at him.

"You're welcome," Kurt said. He reached up to take the cross from her, but found himself winding his hand around hers.

Kiara looked up at him and her eyes met his own. Then her gaze wandered to their intertwined fingers, and Kurt loosened his grip.

"Do you pray a lot?" Kiara said, pulling away from him.

"Every night," Kurt said. "I used with my parents to church a lot in Germany, but I don't have a lot time for that here. I still read my Bible a lot, though."

Kiara nodded and rolled over onto a her back. She stared up at the ceiling as an uneasy silence settled over the room.

"Kiara," Kurt said after a moment. "About the dance --"

"What about the dance?" Kiara said without looking at him.

Kurt hesitated. He knew that the topic irritated her because she always avoided talking about it with him, but he had to keep his promise.

"Well," Kurt said, "I know you don't want to go --"

"Then why are we talking about it?" Kiara asked him.

"Will you just let me finish?" Kurt said, scowling. "Please?"

"I'm sorry," Kiara sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that that's all Rogue and Kitty ever talk about now, and Kitty doesn't even have a date yet." She smiled at him miserably. "I think they're trying to annoy me into going with you guys."

"Kiara," Kurt said, ignoring her last statement. "What if you and I went to the dance?"

"You and me?" Kiara said, her smile fading as she sat up on the bed. "You mean, like, together? Like date?"

"_Nein_," Kurt said quickly. "_Nein_. Just as friends, that's all."

"Oh," Kiara said, laying back down. "As friends."

"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding. "Just as friends."

"I don't know, Kurt," Kiara said, looking at him. "I mean, Rogue and Kitty never shut up about us as it is. Don't you think that will just make it worse?"

"Look," Kurt said, "the dance isn't for another two weeks. So just think about it, okay?"

Kiara sighed and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll think about it, I guess. I'll think about it."

"Good," Kurt said. "Because I promised the others I would ask you --"

"Wait," Kiara said, sitting up. "What?"

Kurt stared at her, confused. "What?" he said, getting to his feet as she stood up.

"You promised the others you would ask me?" Kiara repeated as the fire suddenly flared up within her.

"Yes," Kurt said. "So?"

"So," Kiara scoffed, "that's the only reason why you're asking me? You don't even want to go with me -- you're only asking me because you promised _the others _that you would?"

Kurt stared at her for a moment. "_Nein_," he said. "_Nein. _That's not the only reason why --"

"Get out," Kiara said, pointing to her to door as the fire within her grew stronger. "Now. Get out now."

"Kiara --" Kurt said.

"Get out!" Kiara shouted at him.

Kurt stared at her, hurt and confused. He wasn't exactly sure what he had done wrong. All he knew was that he had hurt her feelings. Offended her, somehow, and now she didn't want to talk him.

Kurt nodded silently and teleported out of the room.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

27

Later that evening, Kiara lay on her bed silently and stared out her window. Nearly two hours had passed since she had last spoken to Kurt, and it was already growing dark outside. She could see the crescent-moon perfectly from where she lay.

Kiara looked up silently as she heard her door creak open.

It was only Rogue, though, finally coming in from training.

"Hey," Rogue said. "I heard about what happened during your flying lesson. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, laying back down. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Rogue nodded silently and started to change out of her uniform.

"Did you guys make Kurt promise to ask me to that dance or something?" Kiara asked her, sitting up.

"No," Rogue said, looking at her. "We didn't make him promise anything. Why?"

Kiara sighed. "He sort of said that you did," she said.

"No," Rogue said, shaking her head. "We said that we thought it would be nice if you guys went together, and he said he would think about asking you. Why, did he ask you?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, nodding, "because, I guess, he promised you guys that he would. Or something like that."

"Oh," Rogue said, sitting down on her bed. "Well, that's not the only reason why he asked you."

"No," Kiara said. "I think it is."

"Kiara," Rogue said, "I know my brother. He wouldn't ask someone out just because someone else told him to."

"Unless," Kiara said, "he pitied that person or something. Kurt's nice that way."

"Yeah," Rogue said, "but I know he didn't ask you out just because he feels bad for you."

"So he asked me out because he felt pressured to or something like that," Kiara said, nodding. "Makes sense."

"No," Rogue said, scoffing. "No, that's not why he asked you out."

"Well," Kiara said, "it can't be because he likes me because he said he wanted to go to the dance just as friends."

"Kiara," Rogue said. "I thought you didn't like my brother."

"I like Kurt," Kiara told her. "Just not the way you think I do. He's my best friend"

"Then why do you care?" Rogue said. "If you don't like him the way everyone thinks you do, then why does this bother you so much?"

Kiara sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Well, then," Rogue said, "don't you think you ought to spend some time trying to figure that out?"

"I don't know," Kiara said again.

"Well, I think you should," Rogue said, getting to her feet and walking over to her closet. "What'd you say to him, anyway?"

"About what?" Kiara asked her, laying back down.

"When he asked you to the dance," Rogue said, rummaging through her clothes. "What'd you say, yes or no?"

"I told him to get out," Kiara said.

"Nice," Rogue said, laughing humorlessly. "Now, he probably thinks you're mad at him."

Kiara turned over onto her side silently. Kurt thought that she was mad at him. Was she?

Why should she be?

Because he told her the truth, and she had jumped to conclusions?

No, that was stupid.

Kiara had no right to angry at Kurt. If anything he should be angry at her. She had gotten upset over something stupid, and she had probably hurt his feelings, too.

Kiara sighed and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Rogue asked her.

"To talk to Kurt," Kiara said simply as she left the room.

Kiara walked down the hall silently and knocked on Kurt's door.

"Oh, hey, Kiara," Kurt said when he answered the door.

"_Es tut mir Leid_," Kiara told him. "About earlier. I got upset and I don't really know why. So I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Kurt said, "and I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

The two of them were quiet for a moment. Then Kiara bit her lip and said, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," Kurt said, allowing her into the room. "You can tell me anything. You know that."

Kiara nodded and sat down on his bed. "I know," she said. "Anyway, this one time when I was thirteen this really popular guy at my school asked me if I would be his girlfriend, even though I had never spoken to him before in my life."

"What did you say?" Kurt asked, sitting down beside her.

"What do you think I said?" Kiara said, smiling. "I said no. I barely knew the guy, remember?"

"Right," Kurt said. "Then what happened?"

"My dad found out," Kiara said, her smile fading. She looked away from him and stared down at her hands. "He grounded me for a month. Then, somehow, everyone at school knew that that guy had asked me out. They thought it was hilarious that someone had actually asked me out. They thought it was a joke, and as it turns out…" She looked up at him again. "It was."

Kurt stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"That guy had asked me out," Kiara went on when he didn't respond, "because he had promised his friends that he would be able to prove that I was desperate for action. He thought I was a freak." She spat out the last word like it was poison on her tongue. "A _slutty _freak, and he had asked me because he had promised his friends that he could prove it was true."

"Kiara," Kurt said, unable to think of anything else to say. "I'm sorry." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her.

"And you know," Kiara said as tears streams down her cheeks and clouded her vision, "he was the first guy to ever show any interest in me. Then you asked me out today and said that you had promised the others that you would…."

Kurt pulled away from her and held her at arm's length by her shoulders. "And you thought I was up to something?" he asked her, hurt.

Kiara shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking," she said. "Except that you only asked me because you told others that you would. You don't really want to go with me, so I just really wish you wouldn't have asked me, but I'm still really sorry that I ever thought something like that about you."

"You should be, Kiara," Kurt told her. "You know would never do anything to hurt you, especially something like that."

"I'm so sorry," Kiara said.

"I know," Kurt said, wiping tears out of her eyes, "and you know you can always trust me. Don't you?"

Kiara nodded and sniffled quietly.

"Then let me take you to the dance," Kurt said. "Just as friends."

Kiara shook her head. "I don't know, Kurt," she said.

"Please," Kurt said. "It'll be fun. We'll have together."

Kiara sighed and wiped some tears out of her eyes. "I'll think about it," she promised him.

"Good," Kurt said, smiling.

Kiara sighed again and said, "I'm going to bed now."

She stood up and turned to leave.

Kurt reached out and wound his fingers through hers, stopping her in tracks. "Kiara," he said. "When I asked the first time, it wasn't just because I had a promise to keep."

"It wasn't?" Kiara asked, looking at him.

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "I really do want to go with you. So keep that in mind while you're thinking it over, alright?"

Kiara nodded silently.

"Alright," Kurt said, nodding. He let go of her hand and she left the room.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

28

Kurt waited outside of Kiara's room the next morning silently. "Hey," he said to Kitty and Rogue as they left the room. "Is Kiara ready yet?"

"She'll be out in a just a minute," Rogue said, closing the door to the room behind her. "She's still getting dressed."

"Still?" Kurt said with raised eyebrows. "What's taking her so long?"

"Oh, it's adorable, Kurt," Kitty sighed, smiling. "She's trying to make herself look, like, pretty for you."

"Oh, wrong answer," Kiara said, coming out of the room. She turned to Kurt. "This is me trying to prove that I know how to dress myself. What do you think?"

Kurt studied her silently. She was wearing a plain black T-shirt and a denim mini-skirt with purple stockings and worn cargo boots. "I approve," he said, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Not that you need it. I like everything you wear."

"I think I'm going to throw up," Rogue said as she started off down the hall.

"Don't listen to her," Kitty said. "You guys are, like, perfect together."

"We aren't together," Kiara said, laughing. "How many times do we have to tell you that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't believe you?" Kitty said as they walked down the hall.

"Too many," Kiara muttered.

"Let them think what they want," Kurt said to her as Kitty walked ahead of them. "We know the truth. That's all that matters."

"Since when are you so patient?" Kiara said. "Normally, you're just as annoyed by this as I am."

"I never said it wasn't annoying," Kurt reminded her as they went down the grand staircase. "But arguing with them isn't helping, so why bother?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, sighing. "I guess you're right."

"Right," Kurt said, smiling. "So just ignore them."

"I'll try," Kiara promised.

"Good," Kurt said as they entered the garage.

"Hey," Jean said when she saw them. "Kitty says the two of you are going to the dance together."

Kiara scowled at Kitty, who ignored her and climbed in the car beside Rogue silently.

"She hasn't decided yet," Kurt told Jean when Kiara didn't respond.

"Well, you better decide fast, Kiara," Scott said. "I hear Nick Crenshaw is thinking about asking you."

Kiara paused and looked at him. "You know Nick Crenshaw?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Scott said. "We ran varsity track together last year. Why?"

"Last year?" Kiara said, frowning. "I thought that guy was a freshman. He's in my German class."

"No, he's a senior," Scott said, "and once he finds a girl he likes, he doesn't give up. So you better decide fast or he'll never leave you alone."

"Right," Kiara said, nodding as she climbed in the car. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Thanks," Kurt mouthed, smiling at Scott.

They arrived to school late that morning due to traffic.

"Go to class," Kiara told Kurt once they were out of the car. "I'll see you second period."

Kurt nodded silently and they started off down the hall in separate directions.

"Kiara -- hey, Kiara!"

Kiara turned to see Nick Crenshaw walking towards her. She groaned and started to walk faster. She wasn't fast enough, though.

"Hey," Nick said, catching up with her. "Can I talk to you?"

"I guess so," Kiara said. "It's a free country."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Nick said, laughing. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the dance."

"What about it?" Kiara said, silently hoping that Scott had been lying to her.

"Well," Nick said. "I was kind of wondering if you wanted to go together."

"Together with who?" Kiara asked, trying to play dumb.

"With me," Nick said, laughing. "Who else?"

Kiara paused in the hall and looked at him. "We barely know each other," she reminded him. "We just met last week."

"So?" Nick said. "The dance isn't for another two weeks. Say yes and we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other."

"Yeah," Kiara said, "but you're a senior. Don't you think you're a little old for me?"

"No," Nick said. "Do you?"

"Well, yes, actually," Kiara said, sighing, "and somebody else already asked me to the dance."

Nick scowled and looked away from her. "It was Wagner, wasn't it?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "Yeah, it was."

The bell rang and they started off down the hall together as the morning announcements started.

"I thought you guys were just friends," Nick said.

"We are just friends," Kiara said. "We're going to the dance as friends." She paused again and realized that she would have tell Kurt about this conversation during study hall.

"So," Nick said, following her down the hall. "Cancel. Go with me instead. Kurt'll understand. He's a good guy."

"Yeah, he is," Kiara said, looking at him. "Which is exactly why I want to go with him and not you. Not there you're a bad guy, no offense, but I already made plans with Kurt and I plan on keeping them. Get over it. I'm sorry."

She turned into their German classroom silently and left him in the hall.

"Are you alright, Kiara?" Kurt said second period. "You seem angry. Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, nodding as they took their seats in study hall. "Yeah, something did."

"Well, okay," Kurt said. "What happened -- is it something bad?"

"I don't know about bad," Kiara said, feeling suddenly nervous. She took a deep breath. "Nick Crenshaw asked me to the back-to-school dance."

"Oh," Kurt said. "What did you tell him?"

"Well," Kiara said, "I, sort of, told him that I can't go with him because you and I are going together." She smiled apologetically and looked down at her shoes. "If that's okay with you, I mean."

"Well, of course it's alright," Kurt said, laughing. "I invited you to go with me, remember?"

"Right," Kiara said, relieved. "Of course."

"So," Kurt said, "do you need help with your German homework?"

"Yes," Kiara said, smiling. "Please."

Kurt stood silently outside the girls' bathroom sixth period with Kiara's book bag at his feet.

"Hey, Kurt!" a voice said, making him jump.

"Don't do that, Kitty," Kurt said, turning to see his friend standing behind him. "We aren't supposed to use our powers during school."

"Don't worry," Kitty said, laughing. "No one, like, saw me. We're safe. So what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for Kiara," Kurt said. "What else?"

"I think I can come up with a few ideas."

Kurt and Kitty looked up to see Lance standing in front of them.

"Hey, Kitty," Lance said, smiling at his ex.

"What do you, like, want, Lance?" Kitty said, scowling at him.

"Relax," Lance said. "I just want to talk."

"I don't think she wants to talk to you," Kurt informed him.

"Shut it, Blue boy," Lance shot at him. "No one asked you."

"If you want to talk, Lance," Kitty said, crossing her arms, "then, like, talk but you better be nice to my friends. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Lance said, smiling as he approached her.

"Good," Kitty said. "So tell me what you, like, want."

"I wanted to ask you something," Lance told her.

"Like ask away," Kitty said. "I don't, like, think you'll like my answer, though."

"Right," Lance said. "So, anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me?"

"What?" Kitty said, laughing. "Eww. Like no way. Not in a hundred years."

"What?" Lance said. "Why not?"

Kitty exchanged a look with Kurt. "I don't know," she said, shrugging. "Just because."

"Because why, Kitty?" Lance demanded angrily as the building gave a sudden jolt.

"She has a date," Kurt said quickly. "That's why."

"Really?" Lance said, looking at him. "Who -- you?"

"Yes," Kitty said, smiling. "Kurt's taking me to the dance."

"What?!" Kurt and Lance said in unison.

"You're going with that blue freak?!" Lance said, gesturing to Kurt.

"He is _not _a freak," Kitty said, scowling. "And, yes, I am going with him. As his, like, date."

Lance shouted angrily and the building started to shake violently. "You know what," he said, looking at Kitty as the shaking stopped abruptly five seconds later. "I don't know what I ever saw in you. You're a freaking moron."

"Oh, really?" Kitty said. "Well, what makes you, like, think that you're opinion ever mattered to me because -- news flash -- it didn't. You're nothing but a scruffy little loser. Now, get lost."

Lance stared at her for a moment, panting angrily. Then he turned and stalked away from the two of them.

"Kitty," Kurt said once Lance was out of earshot. "Kitty, why did you tell him that _I _was your date for the dance?"

"Because you, like, are," Kitty told him. "We'll go just as friends. Just like we used to."

"Uh, hello?" Kurt said. "What about Kiara -- she and I are supposed to go together, remember?"

"Oh, don't worry," Kitty said. "Kiara will, like, totally understand. She won't mind."

"What won't I mind?"

The two of them turned to see Kiara standing behind them.

"Oh," Kitty said, laughing. "Kurt just, like, agreed to take me to the school dance."

"What?" Kiara said, looking at Kurt. "I thought we were going together."

"Kiara --" Kurt said.

"Well, yeah," Kitty said. "You were, but just as friends. Then I asked him and he, like, said yes. You don't mind, do you?"

Kiara smiled and shook her head. "No," she whispered to them. "I don't mind."

Kurt could see something in her eyes, though. Something he wasn't supposed to see. He didn't know what, though.

Kiara took her bag from him silently. Then she turned and walked away from them without another word.

"See?" Kitty said. "I told you she wouldn't, like, mind."

"You know what, Kitty," Kurt said angrily. "If she gets upset because of this, I'm blaming you."

"Calm down, Kurt," Kitty said, her smile fading. "I'll, like, talk to her tonight after training with Rogue and make she's, like, okay. I promise."

"You had better," Kurt told her firmly.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

29

Kiara sat on the edge of the baseball diamond silently and Kitty sat beside her. They were supposed to be playing a game of baseball without using powers, but it hadn't taken long for the students to decide otherwise and Beast had given up on trying to change their minds.

Time seemed to be passing slower now that Kiara knew that Kitty and Kurt were going to the dance together, and the mood between the three of them was suddenly tense.

Kiara had been quiet since she had found out. She rarely spoke to anyone and carefully avoided looking at either Kurt or Kitty. Her gaze was distant. Her expression was unreadable.

No one knew how Kiara really felt and no one wanted to ask, but Kurt had already decided that it was up to Kitty to find out since she was the one who had caused the problem.

"So," Kitty said. "You're, like, okay with me going to the dance with Kurt, right?"

"I'm fine, Kitty," Kiara said without looking at her. "Kurt can go to the dance with whoever he wants."

"Are you, like, sure?" Kitty said. "Because Kurt's kind of, like, worried that we might have, like, hurt your feelings. We didn't, did we?"

"Why would my feelings be hurt?" Kiara said, looking at her for the first time in hours. "Kurt wanted to go to the dance with me. Then he changed his mind. No big deal."

"Oh, well, okay," Kitty said, smiling uncertainly. "If you're, like, sure."

"Don't worry," Kiara told her. "I'm sure. Besides, I don't even have a dress to wear, remember?"

"Right," Kitty said. She opened her mouth to remind Kiara that she and Rogue had invited her to go dress shopping last Saturday, then she thought better of it and changed her mind.

"I'm going inside," Kiara said, getting to her feet.

"What?" Kitty said, looking at her. "The game isn't even over yet."

"Beast won't mind," Kiara muttered, walking away from her.

Kitty looked up silently as Kurt appeared beside her in a cloud of smoke. "Well, how is she?" he asked her. "She isn't upset, is she?"

Kitty shrugged. "She said she was fine," she told him.

"Yes," Kurt said, "but did she seem fine?"

"Well, actually," Kitty said, her smile fading, "she kind of seemed, like, too fine. Almost like she doesn't care."

"Wait," Kurt said, frowning. "What do you mean, she doesn't care?"

"I mean," Kitty said, "that she doesn't care. She must have gotten over it. I think you should probably, like, talk to her yourself, though."

"Yeah," Kurt said. "You're probably right. Do you know where she went?"

"No, sorry," Kitty said, shaking her head. "She just said that she was, like, going inside."

"Well," Kurt said, trying to think of where Kiara might have gone. "I'll try her room first. Then the library. She spends a lot of time there."

Kitty nodded silently as Kurt disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kiara lay on her bed silently. She sighed and pulled her blanket over her head.

Kurt and Kitty going to the dance together.

Kiara should have known something like that would have happened. Kurt had never really wanted to go to the dance with her to begin with. She just wished that he would have told her how he felt instead of letting her believe what everyone else said. If he had then maybe she wouldn't feel so -- so what?

Kiara sat up and shook her head. She didn't feel anything. So Kurt wasn't taking her to the dance anymore. So he was taking Kitty now and everyone had been wrong. Who cared?

It was no big deal.

"Kiara!"

Kiara felt her body stiffen as Kurt called her name through the closed bedroom door. He knocked twice. She lay down and threw the blanket over her head. She didn't want to talk to him. She _couldn't _talk to him. She just couldn't.

Kurt knocked on the door once more. A moment of silence followed. Then Kiara heard the sound of him teleporting away, and she knew he was gone.

The next morning, Kurt stood impatiently outside of Kiara's bedroom door. He had to talk to her. He had to, but he hadn't had a chance to talk to her the night before as she had gone to bed early, claiming to feel sick to her stomach.

"Hey," Kurt said to Rogue as she left the room. "Where's Kiara?"

"Oh," Rogue said, her smile fading. "She left early so she could walk to school by herself."

"But she's never even been to the school on her own before," Kurt said. "She could get lost. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her," Rogue said, scowling at him. "What a lot of people want to know is what's wrong with you."

"Me?" Kurt said. "What did I do?"

"You asked her to the dance," Rogue reminded him. "Then you agreed to go with Kitty instead."

"Leave him alone, Rogue," Kitty said, approaching them. "He's doing it as a favor to me, and Kiara said that she's, like, fine with it."

"And y'all believed her?" Rogue said in disbelief.

She stalked off silently down the hall before Kitty or Kurt had a chance to respond.

Kurt and Kitty silently for a moment, uncomfortably.

"Kiara said she's okay with it," Kitty said at last. "So that means that she's okay with it. Right?" She looked at Kurt, uncertainly.

"Look," Kurt said, "you go to school with Scott and Jean. I'm going to go see if I find Kiara so I can talk to her before school starts." He turned and started walking down the hall. "She couldn't have gotten far."

Kiara walked down the sidewalk and looked up and down the street silently. She had decided to walk to school this morning and she wasn't entirely sure if she knew where she was. Bayville wasn't exactly huge, though, so she knew she would find her way.

Eventually.

Kiara sighed and sat down on the curb in front of a run-down house. Who was she kidding?

Kiara had no idea where she was. She should have just gotten a ride to school with one of the others.

"Well, well if isn't it little Miss Blaze who's come to play."

Kiara stood up and turned to see Pietro standing behind her. "What do you want?" she asked, scowling at him.

"I think the real question is, what do you want?" Pietro said, smiling. "This is my turf." He gestured to a sign in front of the run-down house, which read "Bayville Brotherhood Boardinghouse."

"Well, I can assure you that I'm not here on purpose," Kiara told him. She sighed and sat back down on the curb. "I got lost."

"Oh, is that so?" Pietro asked her. "Are you sure haven't come to switch sides?"

"Excuse me," Kiara said, looking at him, "but why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Pietro said, shrugging. "Because Kitty Pryde stole your furry, blue boyfriend."

"Kitty didn't steal anything from me," Kiara said, getting to her feet and scowling at him. "And Kurt isn't my boyfriend. He and I are friends just like me and Kitty. So if she wants him, she can have him. I don't care."

"You know I don't get you," Pietro said, his smile fading. "You're a smart girl, but you're hiding something. And it's something big, and it's something bad. Yet you're still there, at that mansion, pretending to be one of them."

Kiara stared at him in furious disbelief as the fire flared up inside of her. "What are you talking about?" she said. "I don't have any secrets and I'm not pretending to be anything. So if you think that I'm…" She searched for the right words. "That I'm one of your little Brotherhood members, then you better think again because I'm not."

"Do you really think that's true?" Pietro asked her. "Do you really think you're so different from me and my boys?"

"I know I am," Kiara said, struggling against the fire that raged within her. "I know about the things you've done -- the things you do. You're bad people. You lie, steal, and hurt people. You kill people."

"The same way you killed your father," Pietro said, scowling at her.

"That was an accident," Kiara said quickly. "I never meant for that happen."

"Was it, Kiara?" Pietro said, approaching her. "Was it really -- because I think I know what happened. I think your daddy pushed you too far and you lost it. Then you ran away and decided to hang out with the X-Men because you've got a thing for that furry, blue freak."

"My father loved me," Kiara told him as the fire flared up within her, stronger than ever before, "and I love him. You want to know what happened, I'll tell you what happened: My powers manifested and he got hurt. That's what happened, and I'm training to be an X-Man because I want to make sure -- I _have _to make sure that that never happens again. Ever. I'm not like you."

The two of them looked up silently as a blue Mercedes screeched to a halt in front of them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nick Crenshaw demanded as he climbed out of the driver's seat.

"What?" Kiara said, looking at him.

It was then that she realized that both she and Pietro looked as though they were getting ready to kill each other. They were both standing up with their feet set apart, leaning towards each other with their fists clenched.

At some point, Kiara had thrown her bag to the ground and her books had spilled onto the pavement. A death glare played about her face and her fist was raised as though she were about to pound Pietro's face in.

Kiara lowered her fist and looked from Pietro to Nick and back again, panting heavily. She swallowed the flames that were tearing at her throat. "Nothing," she said, still panting. "Nothing's going on. I got lost. Pietro was just giving me directions."

"Yeah, right," Nick said. "Get in." He gestured to his car.

Kiara piled her books in her bag quickly and did as she was told.

"From now on," Nick said, walking over to Pietro, "you leave her the hell alone."

"Or what?" Pietro asked, smirking.

"You don't want to find out," Nick told him.

Nick turned away from Pietro and got in his car silently.

"Thanks," Kiara said once he was in the car.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked her, starting the car.

Kiara sighed and leaned her head against the closed window. "He was talking crap about me and my dad," she admitted.

"Yeah, well," Nick said, "don't go starting fights with guys like him. Him and his friends don't believe in fighting fair."

Kiara laughed as she considered the huge advantage the Brotherhood would have over Nick himself.

"What's funny?" Nick asked her.

"Nothing," Kiara said. "Nothing's funny."

"Right," Nick said. Then he decided to change the subject. "So I heard Wagner decided not to go with you to the dance, after all."

"Yeah," Kiara said, silently wondering how everybody knew about that already. "Yeah, he's going with my friend Kitty."

"Your friend?" Nick said, laughing humorlessly. "She mustn't be a very good friend if she stole your date from you."

"She didn't steal my date from me," Kiara said, sighing frustrated. "Kurt was never my date. He and I are just friends, and it makes more sense for the two of them to go together anyway."

"What makes you say that?" Nick asked her.

"Well," Kiara said, "they've known each other longer. Plus, they look better together. Who knows -- maybe they'll win homecoming."

"Yeah, right," Nick said, laughing for real this time. "Jean and Scott will win that for sure. Not those two."

Kiara thought for a moment. "Yeah," she said. "You're probably right about that one."

Nick laughed again. "I know I am," he said as he parked the car in the school parking lot. "Look, though, why don't you go with me to the dance since Wagner bailed on you?"

"You know," Kiara said as she unbuckled her seatbelt, "I don't really feel like going to dance anymore. I mean, I never really wanted to go to begin with, but Kurt thought it would be fun so I said yes. That's all."

"Oh, well, that's cool," Nick said. "Maybe we could do something else then."

"I don't think so," Kiara said, looking at him. "I'm really not ready for a boyfriend or something like that."

Nick nodded and thought for a moment. "Let me know when you are ready then," he told her. "Because I don't give up. You better learn that one fast, new girl."

"Scott said you were hard to get rid of," Kiara said, laughing.

"He was right," Nick said, nodding.

"Thanks for the ride," Kiara said, climbing out of the car.

"Wait up," Nick said, following after her. "We can walk to class together."


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

30

"Hey," Kurt said to Kiara when he met her in study hall. "What happened this morning?"

"What do you mean?" Kiara asked, rummaging through her bag.

"Well," Kurt said, "Rogue said you were walking to school, but then you got dropped off here by Nick Crenshaw. I thought you hated him."

"I don't hate anyone, Kurt," Kiara said, pulling out her passbook. "I got lost and ended up over at the Brotherhood house. Pietro started messing with me and Nick stopped because he saw what was going on. Then he offered me a ride and I said yes."

"Wait," Kurt said. "What do you mean, Pietro was messing with you? What did he do?"

"Nothing," Kiara said, filling out a hall pass. "He was just running his mouth as usual." She looked up at him and smiled grimly. "If it wasn't for Nick, he probably would have gotten fried."

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked her as she got to her feet.

"Guidance," Kiara said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I decided to trade this study hall in for an art class."

"Wait a minute," Kurt said as he got to his feet and grabbed her by her arm. "Why would you want to do that? I mean, I won't have any time to tutor you if you switch out of here."

"Don't worry," Kiara told him. "I've got a new tutor. All I've got to do is rearrange my training schedule with the professor and I'll be all set."

"A new tutor?" Kurt repeated. "Kiara, what's going on -- I thought we had decided that I was going to tutor you."

"Nothing's going on," Kiara said, breaking free of his grip. "I just found a new tutor. A better one."

Kurt watched in disbelief as Kiara turned away from him and went to get her pass signed by the teacher. Then she left the classroom without saying another word to him.

Kurt sat down in his seat silently. Kiara was lying to him. He knew she was because who could tutor her better in German than someone who was actually from Germany?

Rogue was right and so was Kitty.

Kiara seemed fine, but she wasn't. That still didn't explain why she was trying to avoid him, though. Could one little dance really be the source of all this trouble?

Maybe.

Kurt didn't know. It was impossible to tell with girls because most of them hardly ever said what they really meant, and that's exactly what Kiara was doing. He knew it.

So Kurt really couldn't tell what the source of all this trouble was. He planned to find out, though.

Kiara ate her lunch in the girls' room that day. Kitty and Rogue would be able to find her in there, but Kurt wouldn't and that's all that mattered. She didn't want to be anywhere near him or anyone else, for that matter. All she wanted was to be alone.

Kiara finished her lunch silently in the handicapped stall, listening uninterestedly to the other girls gossiping about who knows what. She waited until they gone to throw her Styrofoam lunch trey in the garbage. Then she wandered out into the hall.

"Excuse me," a security guard said to her. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"This is my lunch period," Kiara informed him.

"Well, then get back to the cafeteria," the guard instructed her.

Kiara nodded and did as she was told. She stood in the doorway of the cafeteria silently. Kurt had yet to join the others at their usual table, but she knew he would turn up eventually.

"Hey, Kiara!"

Kiara looked up to see Nick Crenshaw beckoning to her from a table in the corner of the room.

Kiara wandered over to Nick and his friends. He was sitting with two blonde-haired girls and a black boy.

"Hey," Nick said to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Kiara said simply.

"Well, come on," Nick said, smiling. "Sit with us."

Kiara surveyed his friends silently. She could tell just by looking at them that she would have nothing in common with them. They wore expensive, name-brand clothing and the girls wore too much make-up. She down next to Nick reluctantly, but only because it was better than sitting with her other friends.

"Alright," Nick said, sighing. "This is Lisa, Janie, and Travis." He pointed to each person in turn as he said their names.

"Hey," Kiara said, smiling weakly. "My name's Kiara Blaze."

"Yeah," Lisa said. "We know."

"You were on the news," Janie reminded her.

Kiara nodded silently. Then she reached inside her bag and pulled out her notebook and a pen. The others went back to their previous conversation, while she sketched silently. She sketched without really knowing what she was drawing.

"You know," Nick said to her after a while. "That's a really amazing drawing."

Kiara looked down at her drawing. It was an incredibly detailed picture of Kitty dancing with Kurt. Kitty was wearing an elegant floor-length gown, while Kurt wore a simple tux.

"That guy's a jerk, though," Nick said, tapping the picture of Kurt. "And you're too good for him."

"Thanks," Kiara said without really meaning it. She forced herself to smile at him.

"Hey," Rogue said, sitting down at the lunch table. "Have any of y'all seen Kiara?"

"I haven't spoken to her since this morning," Kurt said, frowning. "Why?"

"I just wanted to talk to her," Rogue said. "That's all."

"Talk to her about what?" Kitty asked her.

"About the fact that she's been acting weird ever since yesterday," Rogue said, scowling at her. "Because in case you haven't noticed, she's been avoiding every one of us all day."

"Yes," Kurt said, "and she's been trying very hard to be good at it. She transferred out of our study hall and got a new tutor for her German class."

"Wait a minute," Scott said, looking up at him. "Where is she going to find a better tutor for that class than you -- you're from Germany."

"I know," Kurt said. "That's what I said."

"Hey, look, you guys," Kitty said. "Kiara's right over there." Her smile faded as she pointed to a table in the corner of the room. "And she's sitting with Nick Crenshaw."

"Nick Crenshaw?" Kurt said, standing up so he could get a better look. "I don't believe it. Just last week, she hated that guy." He gestured to Nick. "Now, it's like they're actually friends."

Kurt grabbed his bag and pushed himself away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Kitty asked him.

"To talk to Kiara," Kurt said.

"I'll go with you," Rogue said, getting to her feet.

Kitty stood up and followed after them silently.

The bell rang. Kiara stood and gathered her things.

"Hey, Kiara," Travis said, "I think your friends want you."

Kiara looked up to see Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue walking towards them.

Nick pushed Kiara aside and stepped in front of her.

Kurt paused in front of him and scowled.

"I want to talk to Kiara," Kurt said.

"Yeah?" Nick said. "Well, I don't think she wants to talk to you."

"I don't think it's up to you to decide that," Kurt said angrily.

"You know what," Nick said, "I think it is because this girl --" he gestured to Kiara " -- has been completely miserable all day thanks to you." He shoved Kurt backwards.

"Oh, no," Rogue said, pulling her gloves off.

She pushed past Kitty and attempted to move forward, but Kurt threw his arm out to keep her from coming any closer.

"You don't touch me," Kurt said, taking a step towards Nick.

"Alright," Kiara said, pushing herself between the two boys. "Stop it. Now." She turned to Kurt. "We can talk later. Tonight at the mansion."

Kurt studied her, but he couldn't tell if she was telling the truth. So he was just going to have to assume that she was.

"Alright," Kurt said, nodding. "Tonight."


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

31

Kiara rode home with the others that afternoon, but she didn't speak to any of them. Then she went straight to the Danger Room for target practice.

"You're having trouble focusing," Professor Xavier said to Blaze as he approached her.

"What are you talking about?" Blaze said, panting. "I hit the mark." She gestured to the burning target sign.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Professor Xavier told her. "Now, listen to me. I am well aware that you are upset with some of the others, but you're going to have to put whatever happened behind you for now. If you don't, your training will only get harder. Do you understand?"

Blaze scowled at him for a moment. Then she looked away from him and said, "Yes, professor."

"Very well," Professor Xavier said. "You may go."

"You know," Wolverine said once Blaze was gone, "I'm thinking we should have a talk with the elf about whatever it is he did to piss her off."

"No," Professor Xavier said, sighing. "This is something that they have to work out on their own."

"It's interfering with her training, Charles," Wolverine reminded him.

"Conflict resolution is part of being young, Logan," Professor Xavier said, wheeling himself towards the door. "We shouldn't rob them of the experience."

When Kiara got to her room, she found Kurt sitting on her bed, holding a small, rectangular object.

"What's that?" Kiara asked, closing the door behind her.

Kurt stood up and walked over to her. "Here," he said, handing it to her. "I found it under you pillow."

Kiara looked down at the object in her hands. It was the picture Kitty had taken of her with Kurt on the first day of school. "I forgot I put it there," she muttered.

Kurt reached out and lifted Kiara's chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I want to know what's upsetting you," he told her. "And don't say there's nothing wrong because I don't think you would be avoiding everyone if that were true."

Kiara sighed and pulled away from him. "I'm not avoiding anyone," she said, sitting down on her bed.

"Well, then, what are you doing?!" Kurt demanded. "Other than lying to everyone, that is."

Kiara shoved the picture of her with Kurt under her pillow. Then she sat silently for a moment and stared down at her hands. "Don't yell at me," she said after a while.

"Well, I'm sorry," Kurt said, "but I don't know what else to do. I feel --"

"It doesn't matter how you feel," Kiara said, looking up at him. "Yelling at me isn't going to change things."

"Neither will ignoring everyone," Kurt countered. "Please, just tell me what's wrong. I'm worried about you, Kiara. Can't you see that?"

"Worried about me?" Kiara repeated, laughing as she stood up and the fire flared up inside her. "Why would you be worried about me? Because I didn't spend the whole day with you, is that why?!" Angry tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving trails of smoke behind them.

"Listen to me, Kiara," Kurt said, grabbing her by her shoulders. "I'm worried about you. You aren't acting like yourself -- this isn't like you."

"So what?" Kiara said, jerking away from him. "So I'm acting different -- who cares?"

"I care --" Kurt said.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "Too much. Way too much. You're completely overreacting and there's no reason for it."

"I'm overreacting?" Kurt said, laughing humorlessly. "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Kiara, but that's no reason for you to act like this. I mean, I really thought you were more mature than this."

"What," Kiara said, "does maturity have to do with any of this?"

"It has everything to do with it," Kurt said, throwing his hands up in the air, frustrated. "I mean, be honest with me, Kiara. The only reason you're upset is because of the dance, isn't it?"

Kiara stared at him in disbelief. "You think," she said, struggling to the control the fire inside of her, "that I'm upset because you decided to take Kitty to the back-school-dance?"

"Yes," Kurt said, "and so does everyone else. I've tried to think of some other reason, but that's the only one that seems to make any sense."

Kiara scowled at him. Then she reached out and slapped him hard across the face.

Kurt stared at her silently in disbelief. He had known that the chances of him actually being right were slim, but he hadn't expected her to slap him.

"Get out," Kiara said when he opened his mouth to speak. She was panting now and she was dangerously close to losing control of the fire. "Just get out. Now."

Kurt opened his mouth to speak, but then he thought better of it and merely sighed instead. Then he turned away from her and teleported out of the room.

Kiara stood silently for a moment, staring at nothing. Then she collapsed onto her bed as fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks. She reached under her pillow and pulled out the photograph of her with Kurt. She felt like destroying it. She felt like putting it through a paper-shredder and tearing the remnants up into a million, tiny pieces, but she couldn't. No matter how much Kiara wanted to, she just couldn't.

"She hit you?" Kitty said for what seemed like the millionth time. "She actually, like, hit you?"

"Yes, Kitty," Kurt said, scowling at her. "She actually hit me."

He sighed and turned back to his reflection. His image inducer was turned on and the handprint that Kiara had left behind on his face was clearly visible and it shone, red and angry.

"Wow," Kitty said. "What did you, like, do?"

"I already told you what happened," Kurt said, turning off his image inducer. "All I said was that she was upset because I'm taking you to the dance. Then she hit me."

"Well, look it at this way," Kitty said, smiling. "At least now you know that you were right. She does love you. I mean, why else would she have hit you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Kurt said sarcasticaly as he turned to face her. "Because I was wrong." He sat down on the floor beside his bed.

"Look, Kurt," Kitty said reassuringly. "You aren't wrong. Kiara is in love with you and that's why she's so upset. She's just jealous, but once she realizes that you and I aren't really together --"

"Then what, Kitty?" Kurt said, scowling. "Then what do you think will happen then -- she'll come running into my arms? Face it, Kitty. Kiara doesn't love me and that's all there is to it. I'm not even sure if she likes me anymore."

"You know that's not, like, true, Kurt," Kitty told him.

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "I know that it is true. I mean, she was so offended by the idea that she actually slapped me, remember? Or do I have show you her handprint again to prove it to you?"

"So, like, what?" Kitty said, getting to her feet. "You're just giving up -- don't you even want to try to get her back?"

"Get her back?" Kurt said, standing up. "I never had her. I never even had a chance. I never even wanted one."

"Okay," Kitty said, crossing her arms. "That's a lie and you know it."

"Look, stop it, Kitty," Kurt said. "Just stop it. I'll find a way to fix this on my own."

"Oh, whatever," Kitty sighed. "Just, like, let me know when you're ready to stop being, like, stubborn." She phased out of the room silently.

Kurt sighed and lay down on his bed.

Kiara hated him. She absolutely hated him. And, as far as he could tell, there was nothing he could do to change that.

Except….Maybe….He could wait.

Maybe if Kurt waited a little bit, Kiara would stop trying to avoid him. Or maybe waiting would only make things worse. He didn't know, but what other choice did he have?

He couldn't talk to her. No one could. She wouldn't listen to them. She wouldn't tell them what was wrong, and he seriously doubted that a gift or a trip to the zoo would make things better.

Kurt groaned and ran his hands through his hair.

He knew the truth. He knew that was losing Kiara, and he hated that, but he didn't know how to get her to come back to him. So he was going to wait because waiting seemed like his best option.

Then again, by now, it was probably his only option.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

32

Kiara ran down the front steps of the mansion. Then she paused when saw the blue Mercedes parked at the end of the driveway.

"No way," Kiara muttered as she approached the car.

She was half-way to the car when Nick climbed out of the driver's seat.

"What are you doing here?" Kiara asked, feeling incredibly glad that she had already turned her image inducer on.

Nick shrugged. "I'm taking you to school today," he told her.

Kiara stared at him for a moment, feeling very taken aback. "Uh, why?" she said.

"You didn't really think I was going to let you walk to school after what happened yesterday, did you?" Nick said, smiling as he held the passenger side door open for her.

"Uh, yes," Kiara said, nodding. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Why, exactly, are you doing this?"

"Well, someone's got to take to care of you," Nick said. "If those losers won't." He nodded towards the others who were standing on the front porch, staring at them.

"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, Nick," Kiara said, scowling at him, "and those so-called losers are my friends."

Nick sighed and put one hand on the roof of the car. "Look," he said, "I never said you couldn't take care of yourself and I'm sorry I called those guys losers. But you have to admit, they haven't been acting much like your friends lately. I just want you to be happy."

Kiara smiled and nodded. "Alright," she said. Then she climbed in the car and Nick slammed the door shut.

She scowled up at Kurt, who was still staring at her in disbelief, and the others.

Nick was right. They weren't acting much like her friends.

"I think you just lost your girlfriend," Scott told Kurt.

"She's not my girlfriend," Kurt said, scowling at him. "She never was and she's not his girlfriend either."

He watched the Mercedes drive through the front gates silently. Then he teleported to the garage once it had disappeared from view.

"Poor guy," Jean said.

"Don't worry," Scott said as the two started to make their way towards the garage. "He'll be alright."

Kitty made to follow after them, but she paused when Rogue reached out and grabbed her by her arm.

"What?" Kitty said, turning to face her.

"Kurt is my brother," Rogue said, scowling at her. "I want him to be happy. And since you're the one who caused all this trouble, you're going to help me fix it."

"What do you want me to do, Rogue?" Kitty said. "Kiara won't even, like, look at me anymore."

"And that's your own fault," Rogue said.

"I know," Kitty said, sighing. "I mean, how could I not -- no one shuts, like, up about it. Anyway, how do you plan on getting those two back together?"

"It's simple," Rogue said. "All we have to do is prove to Kurt that Kiara does have feelings for him. Then he'll get his confidence back and go after her."

"Okay," Kitty said as they entered the garage. She lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "But how are we going to prove that she has feelings for him?"

Rogue smiled silently and pointed to Jean.

"No," Jean said as Kitty and Rogue followed her down the hall to her locker. "Absolutely not."

"Ah, come on, Jean," Kitty said pleadingly. "All you've got to, like, do is read her mind."

"No," Jean said as she spun the dial on her locker. "It's unethical. What would the professor think?"

"He would think that we're doing the right thing by trying to make Kurt happy," Rogue said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," Kitty said. "How is that unethical?"

Jean slammed her locker shut and turned to face them. "Don't you think you should have worried about Kurt's happiness before you forced him into going to the dance with you?" she asked Kitty.

"I didn't force him to do anything," Kitty said, scowling.

"Aren't you the one who lied and said that he's taking you to the dance just so you don't have to deal with your ex-boyfriend?" Jean said, jabbing her in the chest with her index finger.

"She's got a point," Rogue said, frowning.

"Whose side are you on?" Kitty said, looking at her.

"Look," Jean said, "I'll help you just this once, but don't ask me to do it again. Alright?"

"Alright," Rogue said, nodding. "Now, listen -- Kiara always goes to bed early. So meet me in my room at around ten-thirty. She'll be asleep by then." She turned to Kitty. "Bring Kurt with you."

"Right," Kitty said, nodding.

"We better get to class," Jean said, glancing at her watch. "The bell's about to ring."

Kiara stood silently in the doorway of her art class. It was honestly one of the messiest, most un-organized rooms she had ever set foot in. Art supplies spilled out of cupboards and cabinets and pictures by artists Kiara had never heard of covered every square inch of wall.

"Hi. Can I help you?"

Kiara looked up to see a man standing in front of her. He was surprisingly young and had long, brown hair and bore a very close resemblance to a hippy she had once seen as a child.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "I just got transferred into this class." She pulled her revised class schedule out of her pocket and showed it to the man. "Are you my teacher?"

"Yeah," the man said. "I'm Mr. Riceman. You're Kiara Blaze, right? Weren't you on the news?"

Kiara looked away from him and nodded silently.

"Yeah," Mr. Riceman said. "Hey, I'm really sorry about your dad and the fire and all that. It really sucks when that kind of stuff happens."

"Yeah," Kiara said, nodding. "It does suck."

"Anyway," Mr. Riceman said, deciding it was time for a change of subject. "I'm assuming that you have your own sketchbook?"

Kiara nodded.

"Good," Mr. Riceman said. "You're going to draw one picture in there a week and hand it in on Friday. Then I'm going to need four pieces of independent work by the end of the marking end. That's in December."

"What's the theme?" Kiara asked him as he started to walk away from her.

Mr. Riceman turned to face her. "New beginnings," he said. "Oh, and, uh, try to draw your feelings."

Kiara nodded. She sighed as she took her seat at a long table in the back of the room.

Mr. Riceman was definitely not a normal teacher.

"Look at them," Kurt said at lunch, gesturing to the table where Nick and Kiara were sitting together with his friends. Kiara was smiling and listening to Nick talk quietly. "He's been following her around all day. It's disgusting."

"Hey, Kurt," Scott said. "You've been doing the same thing."

It was true. Kurt had been following Kiara around school all day. He wanted to talk to her, but he couldn't get anywhere near her. She always found a way to avoid him. She hid behind Nick or ducked inside the girls' room or stayed after class to question to her teachers whenever she saw him coming.

As far as Kurt could tell, Kiara didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

"Well, I'm worried about her," Kurt said after a moment. "Nick Crenshaw isn't exactly boyfriend material. What if he tries something?"

"Nick is a perfectly nice guy," Jean assured him. "He won't try anything."

"Whatever," Kurt said.

He turned his attention back to Kiara. He was secretly glad to see that her smile looked much more forced than he had earlier realized.

Then Kiara turned away from Nick.

Kurt watched as she scanned the room with a bored look on her face. Then she looked up and the two of them locked eyes.

They stared at each other for a long time and Kurt tried hard to decipher her expression. He couldn't, though. Not today anyway.

Kiara scowled and looked away from him after a moment.

"Don't worry, Kurt," Kitty said. "Things'll get better."

"Right," Kurt said, smiling, even though he highly doubted that she was right.

A/N

Sorry this chapter is so lame. I wrote it during a fit of writer's block. The next one'll be better, I promise.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

33

Kiara came home from school feeling slightly miserable that day. Because she had had no training scheduled that afternoon, she had been to stay after school so Mrs. Weitz could tutor her in German. She had been looking forward to all day until she found that Nick would be there.

Nick was one honestly one of the nicest guys she ever met, but he wasn't nearly as nice as Kurt was and hanging out with him was very….

Stressful.

Nick's friends did not approve of her because while they constantly discussed sports and fashion she would rather sit quietly reading or drawing. They mostly ignored her completely, though, which was just fine with her because she had so little in common with them that it seemed to pointless for her to try and make friends with them. His friends weren't what bothered her the most, though.

What Kiara had not realized before was that Nick really was one of the most popular boys in school and everyone seemed stunned to see the two of them together. Driving together, walking to class together, eating lunch together, and attending the same after school tutoring sessions. Kiara hated it when people -- especially strangers -- stared at her and that was all anyone was doing that day.

It was the first day of school all over again. Except without Kurt, and that's what Kiara liked most about spending with Nick, but it was also what she hated most about spending time with Nick.

As long as Nick was around, Kurt couldn't get anywhere near Kiara, which was good because she didn't want him anywhere near her. But the more time she spent away from him, the harder it was for her to stop thinking about him. She was constantly looking over her shoulder, searching for him in the hallways and the cafeteria, and she was constantly running away from him.

Kiara didn't understand why she wanted to see Kurt so badly. She just had to, though, even though the very thought of him made her furious. She had see to his face, his eyes, his smile. All of which seemed so much dimmer lately, and that was another thing she couldn't understand.

He was going to the dance with Kitty, who was one of the prettiest girls Kiara had ever met. Not only that, but Kiara knew for a fact that he had fewer Danger Room sessions now that the school had started, and the Brotherhood had decided to focus on her because she was the newest X-Man. So what could possibly be bothering him?

Kiara sighed as she closed the door of the mansion behind her.

"Hey."

Kiara looked up to see Logan standing in front of her. "Where were you?" he asked her.

"After school," Kiara said. "With my tutor. Why, did I miss something?"

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "I just wanted to let you that you should get to bed early tonight. You're scheduled to do a flight simulation with some of the other students early tomorrow morning."

"A flight simulation?" Kiara said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," Logan said. "Like with the Blackbird. Bobby Drake is training to be a pilot so…" His voice trailed off.

Kiara frowned. She didn't know Bobby well, but she did know that he was very immature and the fact that his powers were in any way related to her natural weakness annoyed her greatly. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of doing anything that involved "the art of flying" -- as Angel called it -- with him.

"Hey," Logan said to Kiara as she started to walk away from him. "Are you okay -- I mean, you've seemed kind of…." He searched for the right word "…distracted lately. Did something happen between you and the elf?"

Kiara paused with one foot on the bottom step of the grand staircase. "No," she said without looking at him. "Nothing happened."

Kurt, Kitty, Jean, and Rogue all stood in the hall outside of Kiara's bedroom later that night.

"Okay," Kurt said. "Wait, wait. What is the point of this?"

Jean sighed and turned to Kitty. "You're his best friend," she said. "See if you can explain it to him."

"Okay," Kitty said. She turned to Kurt. "Look, the more someone thinks about someone else, the more they like that person. That means that they're ten times more likely to dream about that person than anything else. Kiara is asleep right now, so Jean is going to read her mind and find out what she's dreaming about. If she's dreaming about you, then there's a fairly good chance that she's been thinking about you, like, non-stop and she's in love with you."

Kurt stared at her for a moment. "This is ridiculous," he said. "I mean, how do you if any of what you just said is true?"

"Do you want to know if Kiara has feelings for you?" Rogue asked him.

"What?" Kurt said, looking at her. "I don't know -- what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, my god," Kitty said, annoyed. "Just, like, shut up already." She grabbed his arm and phased them both into the room.

Rogue and Jean followed after them, using the door.

All of the lights were on in the room, but Kiara was fast asleep in her bed. One hand was wrapped around the stuffed lemur Kurt had gotten for her at the zoo and the other dangled over the edge of the bed.

"She's holding something," Kurt said, approaching her. He knelt down and wrenched the object out of her hand.

It was the picture of the two of them together he had found under her pillow the night.

"She was like that last night, too, you know," Rogue told him. "After the two of y'all had your fight, she was still holding onto that picture when she fell asleep."

Kurt looked at her silently, unsure of what to say.

"Excuse me," Jean said, kneeling down beside the bed.

Kurt stood up and moved out of the way.

Jean reached out and pressed her fingers against Kiara's temples.

The room fell silent. They all knew how important that was in a time like this because Jean still hadn't mastered the full power of her telepathy. She had to concentrate. Hard.

"Ah!" Jean cried, jerking away from Kiara.

"What is it?" Kitty asked.

"She's having a nightmare," Jean said. "A bad one."

Kiara didn't know where she was. She might have still been in her room, but she wasn't sure. It was too dark to tell. Wherever she was, though, she wanted out.

The shadowy figure of a man stood over Kiara, and she knew that this man was dangerous. He was going to hurt her, and she couldn't get away.

Kiara's arms and legs were spread wide and chained to something that she couldn't see. She struggled, but the chains too strong for her to break. She tried desperately to release the flames within her, but it didn't work. They weren't coming out, so she tried instead to flap her wings -- she would do anything to get away from this man and out of this horrible, dark place.

Then she realized what was wrong.

It this place, Kiara wasn't a mutant. Her powers had been robbed from her and there was nothing she could do about it.

"No," Kiara said as she began to struggle against the chains. "No."

The man spoke to Kiara, but his voice came out warped and she couldn't understand what he was saying. Then he knelt down and Kiara could feel his shadowy lips on her neck as his hands roamed her body.

"No," Kiara said as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Please, no…"

Then the place filled with smoke and Kurt was there, standing over them.

"Kurt!" Kiara said, trying to find a way to get the shadow-man off of her. "Please, help me, Kurt. Please, I don't want this, Kurt. Please, help."

Kurt scowled at her. "Disgusting," he said, taking a step backwards.

Then he teleported away from them.

"No!" Kiara sobbed. "Come back. Please, come back."

The shadow-man ignored her. He reached out and placed his hand over her as he straddled her.

"No," Kiara sobbed, even though she knew that no one could hear her. Then her sobs turned into screams. "KURT! COME BACK, KURT! PLEASE!"

Then she heard his voice. Kurt's voice.

"Kiara," he said. "It's alright, Kiara. Calm down."

Kiara opened her eyes. She was sitting up in her bed with tears streaming down her cheeks and Kurt was there, holding her by her shoulders. He looked horrified.

"What are you doing here?" Kiara asked him.

"You were calling for me," Kurt told her. "While you were asleep, you were calling for me."

"I was?" Kiara asked.

"Yes," Kurt said, pulling her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her. "You were having a nightmare."

He smiled as Kiara sobbed into his shirt. This was right. This was how things were supposed to be between them, he realized.

Kurt tightened his grip on Kiara and wound his fingers in her hair. Then -- slowly, hesitantly -- he brought his lips to the top of her head and kissed her softly.

Kiara pulled away from him. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to bed now."

"It's alright," Kurt said, smiling. "I wasn't asleep."

"Well, then, you should go," Kiara said, looking away from him.

"Kiara --" Kurt said. His smile faded and was replaced with of an expression of genuine hurt.

"Please," Kiara whispered. "Just go."

Kurt stared at her for a moment. Then he stood up and picked up her stuffed lemur off the floor. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back against the bed. He handed her the lemur and she took it from him silently.

Then he left.

"Well?" Kitty said when Kurt met her, Jean, and Rogue out in the hall.

The three of the them had phased out of the room just before Kiara woke up.

"I think I might have made things worse," Kurt told the three of them.

"Worse?" Rogue said, putting her hands on her hips. "How the hell did you manage to do that?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kurt said simply.

He teleported to his room and landed safely on his bed.


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

34

The date was September 11, 2010.

General Trask stood in his office and stared at the headline of the _New York Times_. It read "MRD Scientist Reported Missing." It spoke of the disappearance of Diana Joseph, one of the scientists behind "Project Sentinel". Luckily, though, there had been no mention of the project.

Trask slammed the newspaper on his desk angrily and turned to his assistant, Thomas Walters.

"I don't believe this," Trask said. "It's bad enough that one of my scientists has gone missing, but now the public knows about it? How the hell did this happen?!"

"Well, they had to be alerted, sir," Walters said reasonably.

"Alerted of what?!" Trask demanded. "The dangers of mutants -- they know all about that already, but do have any idea how this will look if the public finds out about the Sentinel project? The pro-mutant activists will have a fit."

"Yes," Walters said, "but, with all due respect, we have no evidence that any mutant were involved with Ms. Joseph's disappearance."

Trask stared at him for a moment. "What?" he said. "Are you stupid -- we're the goddamn MRD. Who else would do such a thing?"

"I have no idea," Walters said. "It could have been anyone."

Trask sighed and rubbed his temples. "Listen to me, Walters," he said. "I know that you think everyone else deserves the benefit of the doubt, but mutants aren't everyone else. They aren't normal, they aren't safe. Hell, they aren't even human. They're freaks and they deserve to be destroyed." He turned to face to Walters. "You're new here, so I don't expect you to know this, but the mutants that get brought in here are bad. That doesn't mean they're the worst ones, though. No, the worst ones are out there." He pointed out the window. "They're living, breathing blemishes and I plan to wipe them all out. That's what I was hired to do."

"And you're very good at it, sir," Walters said, smiling.

"Thank you," Trask said, smiling at him. "I consider that a compliment."

Two weeks ago, Robert Sage had been Trask's personal assistant. He had worked for Trask for six years. Then "Trask" had fired him without any warning.

Now, Thomas Walters was Trask's personal assistant. That's what everyone thought, anyway.

Mystique sat behind her desk silently. Two weeks ago, she had assumed the identity of Mr. Thomas Walters who had been a very well-respected lawyer before his death in year of 1980.

In those short two weeks, Mystique had tried to her hardest to weasel information about "Project Sentinel" out of Trask. It was impossible, though. He never let anything slip, except that it had to do with advanced robotics.

The only way, Mystique would be able to find anything out was if she managed to get into Trask's personal computer, but she didn't know the password.

The search for Kiara Blaze's hidden past had not been going well, either. This girl had a big secret and, whatever it was, the X-Men didn't want anyone to know about it. Mystique had been able to find only one article on the girl. It spoke the house fire she had caused back in Jameson, California. But that wasn't any good.

Mystique had already known about that.

Xavier had covered his tracks well, and he could only have two reasons for doing so:

1) Whatever this girl's secret was, it was her ultimate weakness.

2) This girl was a major asset to the X-Men.

Mystique wasn't about to give up, though. Once this girl was properly trained, she very well could be the X-Men's key to bringing the Brotherhood down and ruining everything. Then the humans would win. So she had to search harder. There had to be a way to bring this girl down.

Logan dropped the newspaper on Professor Xavier's desk. "Have you seen this?" he asked the professor.

Professor Xavier read the headline silently. "Yes," he said after a moment. "I am perfectly aware of what happened."

"So why aren't we out there checking this out?" Logan said. "This has Magneto written all over it."

The professor sighed. "Logan, we have no proof of that," he said.

"So you think it was another mutant?" Logan asked.

"It could have been anyone," Professor Xavier said. "A mutant. An upset family member or even someone who works for the MRD. But until evidence of Magneto's involvement is presented, he is innocent until proven guilty."

"You know," Logan sighed, shaking his head. "I've always trusted your judgment before, but I think you're making a mistake, Charles."

"Mistakes are a part of life, Logan," Professor Xavier said.


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men

35

Kurt sighed quietly as he watched Kiara talking happily with Nick Crenshaw.

It had been more than a week since Kurt's last conversation with her, but at least she wasn't avoiding him anymore. Now, she was ignoring him completely. He probably could have been standing right next to her in her room and she would still treat him like he was invisible.

"Hey," Kitty said. "Are you alright, Kurt?"

"Oh, yes," Kurt said sarcastically. "I'm perfect now that Kiara totally hates me."

"Oh, Kurt," Jean said reassuringly. "You know Kiara doesn't hate you."

"She hasn't spoken to me in more than a week," Kurt said, scowling. He turned to Rogue. "When was the last time she even mentioned me to you?"

"Well, she talks about you every night in her sleep," Rogue said.

Kurt shook his head silently. He had already known that because, even though Kiara was completely ignoring him, he begun to go to extreme measures just to get a glimpse of her. He watched her train in the Danger Room with Professor Xavier, who had finally agreed that she was ready for more challenging forms of target practice -- which at this point meant that he placed the signs farther away from her, but it was still progress.

Kurt followed her around school and stayed after so he could listen to her practice German as he mentally corrected all the mistakes she made. Sometimes he even snuck into her room late at night so he could watch her sleep. He knew that Rogue and the others thought he was crazy for trying so hard, but he couldn't stand the thought of spending _no _time with her.

It was just something he had to do. Like breathing or teleporting.

"Look at the bright side, Kurt," Kitty said as the bell rang. "The back-to-school dance is tomorrow."

"Yes, it will be _Wunderbar_," Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

Kitty had been talking about the dance non-stop all week. He knew it was because she wanted to help him keep his mind off Kiara, but it wasn't working. Which was mostly because if it weren't for the dance then he probably wouldn't be in this predicament to begin with.

Kiara stood and gathered her things silently as the bell rang.

"Hey, Kiara," Nick said, following after her.

"Uh, yeah?" Kiara said as they left the cafeteria together.

"I was just wondering," Nick said, "what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night's the dance," Kiara said. "You know I don't want to go to that dance."

"Yeah, I know," Nick said, nodding. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the movies or something."

Kiara paused in the hallway and sighed.

Nick's behavior towards her had changed recently. He was always putting his arms around her or waiting for her after all of her classes or trying to help her with her homework. In fact, he was treating her exactly the same way Kurt used to treat her, and Kiara hated it.

It wasn't the same coming from Nick, and she hated having to turn him down every night.

"I don't date," Kiara said, turning to face Nick.

"What?" Nick said. "What do you mean, you don't date -- you used to date Kurt Wagner."

"I never dated Kurt," Kiara said. "I told you that before." She turned and started to walk away from him.

Nick stepped in front of her quickly and grabbed her by shoulder. "Look," he said. "I know your father's death must have been hard on you, but I drive you to school. I stay after school with you for those stupid tutoring sessions, I protect you from those freaks from the Xavier Institute, and I never let my friends say anything bad about you. I think you owe me at least one date."

"I said no," Kiara said, jerking away from him so hard that she dropped all of her books on the floor.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Kiara turned to see Kurt standing behind her, looking furious. "Kiara," he said. "Is he bothering you?"

"No," Nick told him, scowling. "You're bothering me, though. What, you can't land your own girl so you've got to go after mine -- I don't think so." He stepped around Kiara and raised his fist to Kurt.

"Hit me," Kurt said when he hesitated. "I dare you."

"No," Kiara said, grabbing Nick's arm. "Stop it. Please."

"No," Nick said. "I've had it with this guy." Then he pushed Kiara off him so hard that she fell to the floor and hit her head on a nearby locker.

"Kiara," Kurt said, rushing over to her. He knelt beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I-I --" Nick stammered as he stared at the two of them.

Kurt scowled at him. "Get out of here," he said, taking up a defensive position as he stood in front of Kiara. "Now."

"You know what," Nick said, scowling at the two of them. "Screw you, Kiara. I should have known you'd pull something like this. All of you Xavier kids are freaks."

Kurt watched Nick stalk off down the hall. Then he turned back to Kiara. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "You aren't bleeding, are you?"

"I'm fine," Kiara said simply.

She bit her lip to hold back her tears and swallowed the fire that tore at her throat. Then Kurt stepped aside as she crawled forward and began to gather her things.

"Here," Kurt said quickly. "Let me help." He knelt down and began picking up books.

"I hate him," Kiara said as she threw her things in her bag angrily. "I absolutely hate him."

"I'm sorry he hurt you," Kurt told her. "I should have protected you from him."

"It's not your fault," Kiara sighed, shaking her head. "I have to go. I'm late for class."

Kurt watched as she slung her bag over her shoulder and started off down the hall. He stood up and stared after. That's when he realized that Kiara had forgotten one of her books. He bent down and picked it up.

It was a plain purple notebook. Kurt smiled as he turned it over in his hands.

Purple was her favorite color.

Then he saw the back cover.


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.**

**36**

"**I don't believe this," Kurt said later that night. "She likes him. She really likes him." He picked up the notebook and started to flip through the pages. **

**Kiara had decorated the back cover and most of the pages in the notebook with multi-colored hearts and the initials N.C. in various forms of calligraphy. **

"**I can't, like, believe it either," Kitty said, "and after what happened today, she must be, like, so upset." **

"**I just don't get it," Kurt said, throwing the notebook on his bed. "I mean, I know Kiara's been ignoring me lately, but it really kind of seemed like -- like --"**

"**Like she loves you," Rogue said, picking up the notebook. "I really don't think Kiara likes Nick."**

"**Why would you think that?" Kurt asked, sitting on his bed.**

"**Well," Rogue said. "For one thing, there are a lot of pictures in here that remind me of you."**

**She flipped through the pages of the notebook and showed him a picture of a pair of shining, golden eyes. **

"**She sleeps with that picture of the two of y'all under her pillow," Rogue went on, "and the letters N.C. can stand for something other than Nick Crenshaw."**

"**Like what?" Kitty asked her. **

**Rogue tore a blank page out of the notebook and scribbled something on it quickly. "Here," she said, handing the paper to Kurt.**

**Kurt stared at the paper for a minute, stunned. "Nightcrawler," he said, reading it aloud. "My codename. Nightcrawler."**

"**Oh, my god," Kitty said. "That makes, like, perfect sense. Why didn't we, like, think of that, Kurt?"**

"**I don't think y'all were supposed to," Rogue said. "I think she wanted to throw us off guard just in case one of us did find it. She wanted to keep her feelings a secret. That's why she picked the initials for Nightcrawler instead of the ones for Kurt Wagner."**

"**Wait," Kurt said. "Why would Kiara want to hide her feelings from me?"**

"**Oh, I don't know," Rogue said, scowling at him. "It could be because she thinks you're going out with her." She gestured to Kitty. "Or 'cause she wants to make you jealous. Or it could just be a way to prove how dense you are."**

"**Yeah," Kitty said before Kurt had a chance to respond, "but that's not the point. The point is that you need to, like, go talk to Kiara, like, right away."**

**Kurt sighed and shook his head. "**_**Nein**_**," he said. "Not tonight, anyway. It's past eleven. Kiara's probably asleep by now."**

"**Yeah, probably," Kitty agreed with a sigh. **

**Kurt had a hard time falling asleep that night. He was too excited to fall asleep.**

**Kiara had feelings for him. She liked him. Maybe even loved him. **

**Kurt flipped through the pages over and over again just so he could see his initials written in Kiara's beautiful handwriting. **

**Then, finally, when it was long past midnight, Kurt stood up and teleported to Kiara's bedroom. He landed on the floor next to Kiara's bed. **

**He smiled in a disappointed sort of way. "I wish you would have told me yourself," he whispered, brushing some hair off of her forehead. "Things would have been so much easier if I had found out sooner. I could have told you how I really feel about you, but I'll make things better, I promise. I won't let you run away from me this time." **

**Kurt stared down at Kiara silently. She was so adorable in her asleep.**

**Then Kurt realized something. Kiara couldn't run away from him and now that he knew she was in love with him, would it really be so wrong if he -- if he--?**

**Kurt bent silently, nervously praying that Kiara didn't wake up because he knew she would kill him if he did. Then he kissed her lips ever so lightly and pulled away from her slowly. **

"**There," Kurt whispered. "Our first kiss." **

**He smiled silently and teleported back to his bedroom.**


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I do own the X-Men.

37

The next day was Saturday. The day of the back-to-school dance. Since Kiara had no training sessions that day, she spent the day in her room, watching Rogue get ready, who was going with her boyfriend Gambit.

It was one of the most boring things Kiara had ever done, but she refused to leave her room. If she did, she might run into Kurt. She felt safe in her room today, away from Kurt and the others and Rogue was the one person who wasn't constantly trying to convince her to go talk to Kurt.

Kiara didn't want to talk to Kurt. She needed to, but she wouldn't. She refused to. She wished she could just forget about him.

That's when Kiara realized that she was crying. She had spent so much time crying lately that she couldn't even feel the tears stinging her cheeks. They had gone numb.

"Kiara," Rogue said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Rogue," Kiara said, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"If you're so fine," Rogue said, "then why are you crying?"

"I don't know!" Kiara snapped at her in between sobs. "I really don't know."

"It's because of Kurt, isn't it?" Rogue asked her.

"That has nothing to do with you," Kiara said, trying to sound angry.

"Excuse me," Rogue said, "but Kurt is my brother. His happiness has everything to do with me."

Kiara lay down on her bed and pulled the covers over her head. "Just go away, Rogue," she begged her.

"No, I won't go away," Rogue said, pulling the covers off of her. "You need to go downstairs and talk to him now because in case you haven't noticed you are acting completely childish and you're making both of y'all feel completely miserable just because you're too afraid to tell him how you feel."

"I don't care what you think of me, Rogue," Kiara said without looking at her. "Now, please, just go."

Rogue scowled at her for a moment. "Fine," she said. "Gambit's probably here by anyway."

"Why did you yell at her?" Kurt said when he met Rogue outside of her room. "Do you know upset she must be right now?"

"She deserved it," Rogue said, scowling, "and I ought to yell at you, too. You're acting stupider than she is. You know how she feels and you still won't talk her. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Hello," Kurt said. "Do you know how long it takes to get ready for a dance -- Kitty would murder me if I refused to dress up." He gestured to the tux he was wearing.

"What are you guys, like, arguing about?" Kitty said, walking towards them. "I could hear you all the way down the, like, hall."

"We're arguing about what idiot he is," Rogue said, stalking off down the hall.

"You know," Kitty said, "I'm starting to, like, think that this might be a bad idea."

"_Nein_," Kurt said, sighing. "Everything will be fine. After all, I still have all weekend to talk to Kiara."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kitty said. "Let's go."

Kitty sat silently at one of the many small round tables in the gym, which had been cheerfully decorated with the school colors. Despite Kurt's promise that she would have a great time, she was feeling absolutely miserable. She and Kurt hadn't spoken or danced all evening. He was too upset about his argument with Rogue.

"So. How does it feel knowing that stabbed your friend in the back just so you could avoid going on a date with me?"

Kitty looked up to see Lance standing in front of her. "What are you, like, doing here?" she asked miserably.

"I came to see you, of course," Lance said, smiling. "So, where is your pretend date?"

"I don't know," Kitty said. "Getting us drinks, probably."

"Right," Lance said, sitting down in Kurt's empty chair. "You know, that was a really stupid thing you did -- lying about your date. You could have just said you didn't want to come with me."

"I did," Kitty said, scowling at him, "and you yelled at me, remember?"

"That's because I wasn't ready to give up on you," Lance told her, smiling.

"And now you are?" Kitty asked him.

"Of course not," Lance said, "and I don't think you should give up on me, either. I mean, come on, Kitty. Do you even remember why we broke up?"

"No, not really," Kitty admitted, "but it probably had something to do with the way you treat my friends."

"Oh, come on," Lance said. "The other guys are ten times worse than I am, especially Pietro."

"Yeah," Kitty said. "That's true."

"Yeah," Lance said. "So what do you say you give us another chance?"

"I don't know, Lance," Kitty sighed. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"Well," Lance said, standing up. "Just think about it, alright?"

Kurt stood in the doorway of the gym with Rogue and Gambit and sighed. "I bet you anything they're back together by Monday," he muttered.

"I can believe that," Rogue said, crossing her arms.

Kiara lay on the couch silently in the living room, watching Animal Planet.

The mansion was almost completely empty because the dance for the middle school students was on the same night as the dance for the high school students.

"Hey. You alright, kid?"

Kiara looked up to see Logan standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kiara said, turning her attention back to the television.

"Why aren't you at the dance with your friends then?" Logan asked, sitting down in the one of the armchairs.

"What friends?" Kiara said.

"You know," Logan said, "just because you guys are fighting that doesn't mean they aren't your friends."

"They sure aren't acting like friends," Kiara muttered.

"Maybe that's because you aren't like their friend," Logan told her.

"What do you mean?" Kiara asked, looking at him.

"Well," Logan said, "you're avoiding them, you don't talk them, and you won't even look at Kurt or Kitty."

"They don't need me," Kiara said, looking away from him. "They've got each other to spend time with."

"Look," Logan said. "I may not spend a lot of time with you kids outside of training sessions, but I'm not dense and I'm not stupid, and I really don't think those two are dating."

"Why would you say that?" Kiara said.

"Because," Logan said, "Kurt pays more attention to you than any other person in the mansion, and I really think you ought to talk to him because it's starting to affect his performance in the Danger Room. I mean, if he's doing bad in there, just imagine how he'll do on our next mission. You wouldn't want him to get hurt, would you?"

Kiara shook her head silently.

"Well, then," Logan said, "I suggest you go talk to him. Soon."

Kiara nodded silently and left the room.

Logan sighed and stood up.

"Why, Logan," Beast said as he entered the room. "I don't believe I've ever known you to play match-maker."

"Shut it, fur ball," Logan said, pushing past him.


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do own the X-Men.

38

Blaze stood next to Angel, panting. During the last week, her flight lessons had been relocated to a nearby grassy slope, due to the drowning incident. Blaze had also managed to learn how to land without falling on her face. Now, she was trying to learn how to take off, which was actually much harder than it looked.

"Wait," Blaze said. "How come you taught me how to land before teaching me how to take off?"

"So you know how to land properly when you fall out of sky after a bad take off," Angel told her.

"Oh," Blaze said, nodding. "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah," Angel said. "So, now, I want you to get a running start and try to take off at the top of the hill."

"Come on," Blaze said. "We've been doing this for forty-five minutes."

"And the lesson isn't over for another fifteen," Angel said, nodding. "So get to it."

Blaze shook her head and took off running. Then when she got to the top of the hill, she leapt into the air and began to flap her wings.

Then, suddenly, she was coasting on a westward air current.

"That's it," Angel said, flying towards her. "See if you can follow me."

Blaze nodded, but as soon as she managed to turn in the direction he was flying, she started to fall. She hit the ground hard and managed not to fall down.

"Damn it," Blaze said as she sat down and folded her wings. "Why is this so hard?"

"Well," Angel said. "You've gotten a lot better since we moved away from the ocean."

"I can't imagine why," Blaze said sarcastically. "There's really not that much around here that can kill me so, you know, I feel hell of a lot safer."

"Yes, well," Angel said, "I suppose we've done enough for today. You can go."

Blaze nodded and headed back up to the mansion.

"Well?" Kurt said after he had teleported to Angel's side.

"Her schedule is clear for the rest of the day," Angel told him.

"Do you know where she was headed?" Kurt asked him.

"No," Angel said. "I didn't bother asking."

"Oh, great," Kurt said. "The mansion is enormous. It will take forever to find her."

"Well, you better start looking then," Angel said.

"Right," Kurt said, nodding. Then he teleported back to the mansion.

After Kiara had checked her training schedule and got changed, she decided to go hang out in the library. No one ever hung out in the library on Sundays. In fact when she got there, it was completely deserted.

Kiara walked up and down the aisles for a few minutes before she finally gave up. What was she doing here?

There weren't any books she wanted to read in here. She just wanted to be able to stop thinking about Kurt.

Kiara sighed and sat down at a table. Then she noticed the book that someone had left there. She picked it up silently.

It was a Bible and a long string of rosary beads acted as a bookmark.

Kiara opened it silently and almost threw across the room when she saw what was written inside of it. It belonged to Kurt. He was the one who had left it here.

Kiara groaned quietly. Why did he have to leave it here?

Why did everything have to remind her of Kurt?

Kiara to began to flip through the book's yellowing pages. It was ancient and dog-eared. Kurt must have had it for years.

Kiara stood up silently. She couldn't just leave it here. She had to give it back to him.

Kiara stood outside of Kurt's bedroom door silently. She felt awkward and terrified. She had spent weeks avoiding Kurt. He was probably furious with her.

Everyone else was.

Kiara sighed and knocked on the door, but no one answered. She reached out and pulled the door open. No one was there.

"Good," Kiara said as she stepped over the threshold.

She looked around the room silently. It felt as though she hadn't been in here in years. Everything seemed so different, even though she was sure that Kurt hadn't moved anything. Then she saw what was different.

Kiara crossed the room and saw the picture she had made of him hanging above his bed.

"Kiara?"

Kiara turned to see Kurt standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing in here?" Kurt asked her.

"Oh, you left this in the library," Kiara said, holding out his Bible. "I just thought I should bring back to you."

"Oh," Kurt said, taking the Bible. "Thank you."

"Right," Kiara said, nodding. "I'm just going to go now."

"_Nein_," Kurt said, grabbing her arm as she started to walk away from him. "I want to talk to you. Now."

"Oh," Kiara said, looking at him. "About what?"

Kurt closed the door behind him and guided her to his bed. "Kiara," he said, taking a shaky breath. "I want you to tell me how you feel about me -- how you really feel."

"I don't feel anything for you, Kurt," Kiara said, looking away from him.

"Then how do you explain this?" Kurt said, pulling her notebook out from under his pillow.

"Where did you get that?!" Kiara demanded, snatching the notebook from him.

"You dropped it in the hall at school," Kurt told her.

"Then why you didn't you give it back to me?" Kiara said, standing up.

"Because I can never find you," Kurt said, getting up. "You've been avoiding me like crazy, remember?"

"Whatever," Kiara said. "You could have given it to Rogue. You know, my roommate."

"Look," Kurt said. "Why don't you just tell me something, Kiara?"

"What?" Kiara said. "What do you want to know?"

"N.C.," Kurt said. "It doesn't stand for Nick Crenshaw, does it?"

"Oh, my god, no," Kiara said. "Why --"

"That's right," Kurt said. "It doesn't stand for Nick Crenshaw. It stands for Nightcrawler, doesn't it?"

"What?" Kiara said, scowling. "Kurt, why do you even care -- you're dating Kitty, remember?"

"I'm not dating Kitty," Kurt said. "I went to the dance with her so that Lance would stop bothering her, that's all. I don't even like her that way."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" Kiara asked him, sitting down on his bed.

"I already told you," Kurt reminded her, sitting down. "I wanted to tell you, but I could never find you."

"You could have written me a note or something," Kiara said, shaking her head.

"I doubt you would have read it," Kurt said.

"Probably not," Kiara admitted, smiling at him.

"Well," Kurt said, "then I'm really glad you're here."

Kiara stared at him, confused, as he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. Then he traced a line down to her jaw and rested his hand on her collarbone. He pulled her towards him.

The kiss started off slow and innocent, but it wasn't enough for either of them. Kurt wound his fingers in Kiara's hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself even closer to his body.

Then they melted into each other -- scales on fur -- as Kurt traced the outline of her lips with the tip of his tongue, begging for entrance, which Kiara allowed. Then he could taste the fire in her throat as she dragged her tongue along his sharp, canine fangs.

Then, after what seemed like hours, Kiara pulled away from him, sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked her. "Don't you want this?"

"I'm just so sorry," Kiara sobbed. "God, I'm so stupid. I've acted like such an idiot. I'm so sorry."

"_Nein_," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around her. "It's alright. I forgive you. I just want us to be together."

"Really?" Kiara asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, Kiara," Kurt said, smiling. "I'll never hurt you or force you to do something you don't want to do. _Ich liebe Sie._(1)"

"_Ich liebe Sie auch_(2)," Kiara said, smiling.

"You understood me?" Kurt said, laughing.

Kiara nodded and said, "I looked it up on the internet ages ago."

"Do you have any idea how adorable you are?" Kurt asked her.

Kiara shook her head.

"Completely," Kurt said simply.

1) _Ich liebe Sie _- German for I love you.

2)_ Ich liebe Sie auch_-German for I love you, too.


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

39

Kurt and Kiara spent most of that night in his bedroom. He held her tightly and listened to her talk about the stupid things Nick and his friends used to talk about. He told her about all the things the others had been up to. They probably would have stayed up all night together if Logan hadn't come in and told Kiara that it was past lights out and she had to go back to her own room.

"What are you so happy about?" Rogue asked her the next morning.

"Nothing," Kiara said, smiling. "I'm just happy."

"I haven't seen you this happy in weeks," Rogue said. "This is about Kurt, isn't it -- did something happen between the two of y'all?"

"Maybe," Kiara said, laughing as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Then she left without another word.

"Hey," Kitty said as she phased in through the wall about five seconds later. "What's up with Kiara -- I just saw her out in the hall and she actually, like, spoke to me."

"Something happened with her and Kurt, that's what's up," Rogue told her.

"Wait," Kitty said, frowning. "Something happened between them and he didn't, like, tell me -- oh, that boy is so, like, dead." She grabbed Rogue by her arm and phased out of the room.

"Kurt!" Kitty shouted when she saw him walking down the hall with Kiara.

"Yes?" Kurt said, turning to face her.

"Oh, don't you 'yes' me like you're so innocent," Kitty told him, scowling. "You know exactly what this, like, about and you better, like, have a good excuse."

"This is about me and Kiara, isn't it?" Kurt asked her.

"Well, duh," Kitty said. "Why didn't you tell me that you and Kiara are, like, together? I mean, how come, like, Rogue found out before I, like, did?"

"I didn't tell her anything," Kiara assured Kurt.

"Look," Kurt sighed, "we didn't tell you because we knew you'd make big deal out of it."

"So, like, wait," Kitty said. "It's true -- it's, like, really true? You guys are, like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Does really seem like something I would lie about?" Kurt said, scowling.

"Oh, my god," Kitty said, laughing. "I have to go get my camera!"

"Nice," Kiara said to Kurt as she watched Kitty run down the hall to her bedroom. "Now, we have to spend the whole day dodging the paparazzi."

"As far as I'm concerned, y'all deserve it," Rogue said as they started walking down the hall together. "Driving everyone crazy like that. You're lucky I didn't both of y'all in a coma just for acting so stupid."

"She wouldn't really do that, would she?" Kiara asked Kurt as Rogue walked ahead of them.

"Well," Kurt said, smiling. "It's sort of like you and your powers. We don't make you angry and we don't end up as a pile of ashes on the floor. You don't make Rogue angry, you don't end up in a month-long coma."

"Ah," Kiara said, nodding. "That's such a comforting thought."

"_Sie sind reizend_(1)," Kurt said, laughing. "You know that?"

"No, not really," Kiara said, frowning, "but that's only because I didn't understand one word of what you just said."

"Well, I know it's true," Kurt said. "That's all that matters."

Then he kissed her.

"Yes, I got it! I can't believe I really got it!"

The two of them looked up to see Kitty standing down the hall, examining her digital camera.

"Kitty," Kiara said, taking a step towards her. "Tell me you did not just do what I think you did."

"Yep, I did," Kitty said, laughing.

"You know what," Kurt said, restraining Kiara quickly when he saw the look on her face. "I think we'll just walk to school today." Then he teleported the two of them to the front steps.

"I'm going to kill her," Kiara said, struggling to control the fire that flared up inside her. "I'm going to kill her."

"Now, calm down, Kiara," Kurt said, grabbing her by her shoulders. "_Beruhigen Sie sich(_2)."

"Calm down?" Kiara repeated. "Calm down -- Kurt, she's going to show that picture to everyone."

"So what?" Kurt said. "Everyone thought we going out before. Why should it be any different now that we actually are together?"

"I don't know," Kiara sighed, sitting down on the bottom step of the mansion. "I just don't like to have my whole life publicized."

"I know that, Kiara," Kurt said, sitting down beside her, "but the others were bound to find out eventually, and they're our friends. They aren't going to make fun of us just because we love each other. You know that, don't you?"

"Do you really love me?" Kiara asked him, ignoring his question.

"If I didn't," Kurt said, "then I wouldn't have said it. I don't lie about these things. Ever."

"Good," Kiara said, smiling. "_Ich liebe Sie auch_."

"Yes, I know," Kurt said, "but we have to go now or we'll be late for school."

"Alright," Kiara said, standing up. "Let's go."

"And," Kurt said, taking her hand in his own, "I want you to promise me that you won't murder Kitty when you see her in school."

"Of course I wouldn't do that, Kurt," Kiara said. "We aren't allowed to use our powers in school, remember, so I'll just wait until we get back here."

"Kiara," Kurt warned her.

"Oh, alright, fine," Kiara said, "but she had not better show that picture to anyone who doesn't live in the mansion."

"Don't worry," Kurt said. "I'll make sure she doesn't."

"Hey, Kiara," Nick said in German class.

"What do you want, Nick?" Kiara said, sitting down.

"I saw you holding hands with Wagner," Nick said, leaning against the desk next to hers. "So much for not dating, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Kiara said. "About that. I only meant that I don't date guys that I don't like."

"Oh," Nick said, scowling. "So now you don't like me?"

"Well, I used to think you were kind of nice," Kiara said, smiling at the look on his face. "Before you turned into an ass."

"You know what," Nick said, knocking her desk over. He reached out and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt. "You better watch yourself, bitch. Wagner's not around to protect you."

"What's going on here?"

Nick released Kiara and turned to see Mrs. Weitz standing in the doorway of the classroom.

"Nothing," Nick said, looking at Kiara. "Kiara and I were just having a little chat, weren't we?"

Kiara opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She knelt to the ground, shaking, and gathered her things silently. Then she ran from the room with tears in her eyes.

Kiara ran down the hall to the nearest girls' room. She stood in front of the mirror and pulled down her shirt collar.

"No," Kiara said when she saw the horrible, red mark Nick had left behind.

It was possible. She knew that Nick was stronger than he looked, but he had only grabbed her. How could he have left a mark?

Kiara ran to the nearest stall and closed the door just as she heard the bathroom door swing open.

"Kiara?" Jean called. "I know you're in here. I saw you run in here."

Kiara locked the door of the stall and sank to the floor.

1)_ Sie sind reizend _- German for "You're cute."

2) _Beruhigen Sie sich_ - German for "Calm down."


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

40

"Hey," Kurt said later that day at lunch. "Where's Kiara -- I haven't seen her all day."

"She's pretending not to be hiding in the girls' bathroom by her German class," Rogue told him.

"Hiding?" Kurt said, looking at her. "Why is she hiding?"

"We don't know," Jean said. "She's been in there since first period and she won't come out."

"So we sent Kitty to go get her," Rogue added.

Then, as if on cue, Kitty turned up out of nowhere, dragging a terrified-looking Kiara behind her.

"Well, go ahead," Kitty said to her. "Show him what that jerk did to you."

Kiara shook head as she broke down into tears and covered her eyes quickly to hide the smoke.

"Show me what?" Kurt said, getting to his feet. "What happened?"

Kitty guided Kiara to a chair and forced her to sit down. Then she pulled down Kiara's collar, so that the others could see the hideous red mark that circled her neck.

"Kiara," Kurt said, tracing the ring. "What happened, who did this?"

"Please, Kurt," Kiara said, looking at him. "_Es tut mir Leid_. It was my fault. I started it. I'm sorry."

"Calm down, Kiara," Kurt said, sitting down beside her and grabbing her by shoulders. "I want you to calm down and tell me what happened."

"No, no, no," Kiara sobbed, shaking her head. "No. It was my fault, I swear."

Kurt sighed and shook his head. Kiara wasn't going to tell him anything. "Tell me what happened," he said, looking at Kitty.

"She was talking to Nick Crenshaw," Kitty said, sitting down. "She made him, like, angry. He grabbed her and he left a mark."

"What?" Kurt said, looking at Kiara. "He grabbed you -- _he actually put his hands on you_?"

"No, no, not me," Kiara said quickly, hearing the anger in his voice. "He just grabbed me by my shirt and this happened." She rubbed her neck. "But it was my fault, Kurt, I swear it was. I called him a name."

"Did you tell anyone?" Jean asked her. "A teacher -- anyone?"

Kiara shook her head silently.

"I don't care who she told and I don't care whose fault it is," Kurt said, getting to his feet. "I'm not going to let him get away with hurting my girlfriend."

"No, please," Kiara said, jumping to her feet. "No fighting. Don't cause any trouble, please. You'll get in trouble. You'll get in trouble with the professor."

"Kiara," Scott said. "Kurt's right. We can't just let this guy get away with hurting you."

"Yes, you can," Kiara said to him. Then she turned back to Kurt. "Please, Kurt, please. I don't want you to get in trouble. Please."

Kurt scowled as he watched Nick talk to his friends on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Then he sat back down reluctantly.

"Thank you," Kiara said, resting her head against his shoulder.

Kurt held her hand silently, but he did not look away from Nick.

When the bell rang a few minutes later, the others pulled Kurt aside from Kiara. She stared at him longingly for a moment before she gathered her things and left.

"You aren't seriously going to let him get away with doing that to her, are you?" Rogue hissed at him.

"What do you want me to do?" Kurt said, scowling at her. "If I go after Nick, it will upset Kiara."

"That's because she's afraid of him," Jean said. "She thinks things will get worse if you fight with him, but there's no telling what could happen if we let this pass."

"So what are you saying?" Kurt asked her. "You want me to fight him?"

"Well, you've got to do, like, something," Kitty said.

"They're right," Scott said. "Nick may not have mutant powers, but Kiara does and she's not allowed to use them in public. If he keeps doing stuff like this, then she'll either end up seriously hurt or giving us all away."

Kurt sighed and shook his head. "Look," he told them. "I'm going to talk to Professor Xavier about it today after school."

"That's it?" Rogue said, grabbing him by his arm as he started to turn away from them. "That's all you're going to go do?"

"I refuse to upset Kiara," Kurt said firmly.

Professor Xavier was waiting for them in the foyer when they got back to the mansion that afternoon. "I would like to speak with you in my study, Kiara," he said.

"You go upstairs," Kurt told Kiara. "I'll explain."

Kiara looked from the professor and Kurt and back again nervously. Then she nodded and followed the others upstairs.

"I don't believe I recall asking to speaking with you, Kurt," Professor Xavier said once they were out of earshot.

"Kiara's been having trouble with a boy at school," Kurt said, following the professor down the hall that led to his study.

"And that's why she's been cutting class?" Professor Xavier said.

"Well," Kurt said, "he hurt her today --"

"Hurt her?" Professor Xavier said, turning. "How -- why?"

"Kiara said something that made him angry," Kurt said, "and he grabbed her and left a mark on her. She was afraid of how I would react. That's why she was cutting class."

"Who is this boy?" Professor Xavier asked him.

"His name is Nick Crenshaw," Kurt said. "She used to be friends with him until last Friday --"

"What happened Friday?" Professor Xavier said.

"He pushed her and she fell," Kurt said, "and hit her head."

"Why haven't I been told about this before now?" Professor Xavier said. "Does Principal Kelly know what's been going on between these two?"

"Well," Kurt said. "_Nein _because Friday was sort of an accident. I don't think he meant to hurt her then --"

"But he meant to hurt her today?" Professor Xavier said with raised eyebrows.

Kurt nodded.

"And Kiara is afraid of this boy?" Professor Xavier said.

Again, Kurt nodded.

"When he hurt her today," Professor Xavier said, "did she try to attack him?"

"_Nein_," Kurt said. "She won't even let me --"

"Fight him?" Professor Xavier guessed.

"Confront him," Kurt said, sighing. "She's afraid of what he'll do next."

"What he'll do next," Professor Xavier repeated. "I see."

"Yes," Kurt said, sitting down on the floor.

"Well, I'm very proud of you, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, sighing. "I know how much you care for Kiara. It's have been very hard for you to restrain yourself, but you did the right thing by doing so."

"I didn't want to upset Kiara," Kurt said, looking at him. "Is she in trouble?"

"No," Professor Xavier said. "I will have a word with Principal Kelly and arrange a conference with Nick's parents, if necessary."

"Yes, professor," Kurt said, standing up.

"Oh, and please tell Kiara that her schedule is clear for the afternoon," Professor Xavier said. "I believe she has been through enough for one day."

"Yes, professor," Kurt said, smiling.

When Kurt got to Kiara's room she was in her bed, lying down on her side.

"She's alright," Rogue said, looking up at him. "I think she's just tired." Then she left for her Danger Room session.

Kurt crossed the room and sat down next to Kiara. He turned her over onto her back so he could see her face. "Hey," he said, smiling at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Kiara said simply.

"You don't seem it," Kurt told her.

"I am, though," Kiara said, smiling weakly so as to reassure him.

"Listen to me," Kurt said, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes. "The next time someone does something like this to you, I want to you to come and tell me what happened. I'll take care of it."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kiara said, her smile fading.

"Kiara," Kurt said, "I love you. I refuse to stand by and let you get hurt. So the next time something like this happens, I'll take care of it."

He leaned down and kissed her before she had the chance to respond.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

41

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a miniscule island called Genosha acted as headquarters for Magneto and his army of mutants.

It was two AM when a stolen MRD helijet landed on the sandy shores of the island. Mystique powered it down silently and looked at Quicksilver, who sat in the passengers' seat silently. "Try to remember that this is not a game," she told him. "We are here to organize a battle plan."

"Got it," Quicksilver said, smiling.

Mystique opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a strange, metallic groaning. The two mutants sat perfectly still as the body of the helijet expanded into an oval shape. The propeller was suddenly transformed into what looked like a crumpled wad of paper. Then the whole thing was split in half like some sort of metallic egg.

"That was our ride home, you know," Mystique said, climbing out of what used to be a helijet.

She turned to face to Magneto was flanked on either side by Pyro or Colossus.

"You were being traced," Magneto said.

"I thought deactivated it," Mystique said, frowning.

"You were wrong," Magneto told her.

"Right," Mystique said as she and Quicksilver began to follow their leader through Genosha's thick jungles.

She looked around silently. There were mutants hidden everywhere. She could see the moonlight reflected in their eyes. She wondered if Quicksilver noticed them.

"What did you find out?" Magneto asked as a great metallic dome came into view.

They paused in front of the dome. A portion of the dome melted away and a doorway appeared in its place.

"You aren't going to like what I found," Mystique said as they entered the dome.

The dome was made of various bits of scrap metal. The ceiling was supported by great steel rafters and mutants hung from them like apes. An enormous super-computer -- much like the one that inhabited the control center for the Danger Room in the Xavier Institute -- stood in the center of the room.

Mystique approached the computer silently. She pulled a flash drive out of her pocket and inserted it into the computer.

"Trask has created three kinds of Sentinels," Mystique said as the words "Project Sentinel" flashed across the screen. "Two of them are operated by humans." She clicked on an icon and two pictures appeared on the screen.

One was a picture of what appeared to be a enormous robotic spider and the other was a picture of a bird-like airplane of some sort. Weapons and schematics for both were listed on either side of the screen.

"The third," Mystique went on, "is operated by a super-computer called Master Mold, which is located in the national MRD headquarters in Washington, D.C." She closed out the first screen and clicked on another icon.

This time a picture of giant, humanoid robot appeared along with its weapons and schematics.

"What do they all have in common?" Magneto asked.

"They are all made out of adamantium-two," Mystique said.

"Adamantium-two?" Quicksilver said. "Like Wolverine?"

"No," Mystique said. "Wolverine's bones are made of adamantium-one, which was harvested by H.Y.D.R.A. after World War II. It originated from a meteorite that landed in Africa. Adamantium-two is manmade and nowhere near as strong, but still _almost_ indestructible."

"Oh," Quicksilver said, nodding.

"Go on," Magneto told Mystique.

"All of the Sentinels are highly dangerous," Mystique said. "They were designed to hunt down mutants. The Arachnid model is manually operated and designed for close range land- or sea-based attacks. The Raven model is also manually operated, but it was designed for close or long range aerial-based attacks. The third one is called the Droid model --"

"That's the one operated by Master Mold," Magneto said.

"And the most dangerous," Mystique said.

"We'll make that our first priority, then," Magneto said, looking at her. "I trust you were able to locate the headquarters in D.C.?"

"Easily," Mystique said. "She is the problem." She took the first flash drive out the computer and inserted a second one.

A picture of Kiara Blaze flashed across the screen.

"Who is she?" Magneto asked her.

"That is Bayville's newest X-Men," Quicksilver said.

"She's a pyro called Kiara Blaze," Mystique added. "She wears an image inducer."

"What do you know about her?" Magneto asked her.

"Well, she killed her dad, for one," Quicksilver said, smirking.

"She caused the fire that killed her father in August," Mystique said, scowling. "The papers say it was an accident --"

"But that could just be Charles, covering for her," Magneto said, returning his attention to the picture of Kiara Blaze. "What else do you know?"

"Nothing," Mystique said. "That's all I could find."

"I know something, though," Quicksilver said.

"What could _you _possibly know?" Magneto asked him.

"One," Quicksilver said, "don't make it sound like I'm stupid. That hurts, Dad, really. Two, I know that Blaze meant to kill her father. She's got issues with her dad."

"What kind of issues?" Magneto said, looking at him.

"I don't know," Quicksilver said, "but it's big and I mean _big_. You say one word to this girl about her dad, the other X-Men are all over her and she's gone in five seconds. And whatever it is, that girl is seriously guilt-tripping over it."

Mystique and Magneto exchanged a look.

"Blaze's father could be the key to bringing down the X-Men," Mystique muttered.

"Pietro," Magneto said. "You are to infiltrate the Xavier Institute and extract all files on Kiara Blaze."

"You're sending him?" Mystique scoffed.

"Pietro is the only one fast enough to get in and out without being detected," Magneto said. "If I send you, Wolverine will pick up your scent in an instant. Don't question me again."

Mystique scowled and looked away from him silently.

"When does Trask plan on launching the Sentinels?" Magneto asked.

"October fifteenth," Mystique said without looking at him. "The Ravens are going over Alaska and Hawaii. The Arachnids and Droids are handling the mainlands, but most of the Droids will be hitting any and major cities nation-wide."

"Such as?" Magneto said.

"New York," Mystique said. "Las Angeles. Chicago. If Gotham City were a real place, they'd be hitting there, too."

"I see," Magneto said, sighing. "We'll take out of the Sentinels on the fifteenth, as planned."

"Uh, why?" Quicksilver said. "I mean, wouldn't it better if we kill them _before _they get the chance to kill us?"

"There are mutants out there who think that that the humans aren't the enemies," Magneto said. "If we wait until the fifteenth, then we will prove them -- and the X-Men -- wrong." He turned to back to Quicksilver. "How soon can you infiltrate the mansion?"

"How about just before the fifteenth?" Quicksilver said, smiling.

"Get it done soon," Mystique said, scowling at him. "If that new recruit is as dangerous as we think she is, then we need to know everything can about her now. Understand?"

"Mystique is right," Magneto said before Quicksilver had a chance to respond. "Get it done. Soon."

"Yes, father," Quicksilver said, looking away from him.

"Good," Magneto said. "We'll meet back here again soon."

"I'll relay the plan to the others," Quicksilver said.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

42

"I still don't see why you want to keep it," Kiara said to Kurt the next morning as they walked down the grand staircase together. She stared down at the picture of the two them that Kitty had taken the day before.

"It's a picture of us being happy together," Kurt said, taking the picture from her. "What's not like about it?"

"Plus," Kitty said, "it, like, proves that you guys really are the perfect couple."

"That, too," Kurt said, kissing Kiara on her cheek.

"Please, Kurt," Kiara said. "Do not encourage her."

"Alright, alright," Kurt said, smiling. He looked at Kitty. "No more pictures."

"Yeah, okay," Kitty said, laughing sarcastically.

Kiara groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Do you want to walk to school today?" Kurt asked her.

"Good luck with that," Rogue said.

She opened the front door so that they could see the grey skies and the pouring rain.

"Oh, great," Kiara said, slamming the door shut.

"Oh, stop, like, freaking out," Kitty said. "It's just a little, like, rain."

Kiara stuck her tongue out at her as she and Rogue grabbed onto Kurt.

Kurt sighed and teleported them out to the garage.

"Hey, guys," Scott said when he saw them.

"Good, like, morning," Kitty said, laughing.

"Says who?" Kiara muttered, climbing in the car.

"What's up with her?" Jean asked, frowning.

"Oh, you know," Kitty said. "She's just, like, freaking out about the rain."

"Really?" Rogue said. "I kind of thought it had something about having Nick Crenshaw in her first period class."

"Nick Crenshaw?" Kitty said, looking at her.

"Yeah," Rogue said. "The boy who attacked her, remember?"

"Look," Kurt said, "let's not talk about that just now. I mean, we aren't even at school yet." He climbed in the car and put his arm around Kiara's shoulder.

"You know," Jean said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't in school today. He probably got suspended."

"I hope so," Kiara said, leaning her head against Kurt's shoulder.

Kiara sighed happily as she entered her second period art class. Much to her relief -- and everyone else's -- Nick was absent that day.

"Uh, Kiara?"

Kiara looked up to see Mr. Riceman walking towards her.

"Yes, Mr. Riceman?" Kiara said as she set things down at a table in the back of the classroom.

"I wanted to talk to you about your portfolio," Mr. Riceman said. "About the piece you submitted last week."

"What about it?" Kiara said, frowning. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, no," Mr. Riceman said. "That's just the thing. I was actually wondering if you would mind if I put out in the display case by the cafeteria for the rest of the month."

"Why?" Kiara asked. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Kiara," Mr. Riceman said. "You're one of the best artists in here, and you captured the theme -- the topic -- of the portfolio assignment perfectly, and I really think the other students would enjoy your work. In fact --" he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of paper "-- here."

Kiara unfolded the paper and stared down at it. "This is a flyer," she said, smiling. "About an art show at the community center?" She looked up at him, confused.

"Yeah," Mr. Riceman said, nodding. "See, they hold art shows over there about once a month, and they have a special division for high school students. Now, I have the paperwork if you want it--"

"Paperwork?" Kiara said.

"Yeah," Mr. Riceman said. "So you can, you know, submit your work if you want and the theme is Fall Fun. You would have to have it in to me by the first, but you work fast and I really think this would be good for you. I mean, you have a talent -- a real talent. I don't think you should let it go to waste."

"You did that?" Rogue asked Kiara.

They stood next Kurt and Kitty, and stared up at the picture Kiara had done, which now hung in the artwork display case outside the cafeteria. It was a charcoal drawing of her old home and the field behind it being attacked by red and blue flames. Most of the upper right-hand corner was taken up by a three-dimensional cross with her father's name written across it in complicated-looking calligraphy.

"Yeah," Kiara said, sighing. "It's one of my portfolio pieces for this semester."

"Well," Kitty said as they started to make their way to the cafeteria. "What made you, like, want to draw that -- I mean, it's good, but it's kind of, like, depressing."

Kiara shrugged as she took Kurt's hand in her own. "I was depressed," she said, "and the theme for this semester's portfolio is all about new beginnings. That's exactly what the fire gave me."

Kurt exchanged an uncomfortable glance with the others. They all hated discussing the fire because it usually led directly to a conversation about Kiara's father, and they hated talking about him even more.

"So," Kurt said, deciding to change the subject. "Are you going to do the art show?"

"I don't know," Kiara said as they sat down at their usual lunch table. "I mean, my stuff is okay --"

"That drawing is way better than just okay," Kitty told her.

"Whatever," Kiara said. "I still don't know, though -- I mean, fall fun?" She laughed humorlessly.

"You should do it," Kurt said as he played with her hair absentmindedly. "It would be good for you."

"You think so?" Kiara said, looking up at him.

"Yeah," Kurt said, smiling. "It would help take your mind off things."

"Isn't that supposed to be your job, though?" Kiara asked him, smiling.

"Oh, my god," Rogue groaned, putting her head down on the table.

"I think I'm going to go, like, eat with Lance today," Kitty said, getting up from the table.

"_Ich liebe Sie_," Kurt said to Kiara, laughing.

"I love you, too," Kiara said, kissing him.

Blaze sat silently in the damp lower branches of a tall maple tree and scowled down at down Iceman, who was helping her guard their flag in a game of Capture the Flag.

"You know," Iceman said. "I really don't get how the junior squad vs. the senior squad is fair. They've had way more experience than us."

"You think it's bad fair for you?" Blaze scoffed. "This is one of the first training sessions I've had without the professor, and I'm stuck guarding a flag with _you_."

"Oh, come on," Iceman said, smiling. "It's not like I'm going to ice you or anything --"

"Try it and die," Blaze said as the flames flared up within her.

"Right," Iceman said, his smile fading as he took in the expression on her face. "It's all to do with the whole facing your fears thing."

"Whatever," Blaze said, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment.

"Hey," Iceman said, looking up at Blaze. "Why don't you fly up and see how our team's doing?"

Blaze stared down at him. She was still learning how to take off properly, so she wasn't sure just how safe it would be for her to jump out of a tree at the moment. Then again, Angel had once told her that taking off was always easier to do from higher up.

Blaze sighed and stood up. She spread her wings and balanced herself on the branch and leapt into the air. She hovered for a moment before she decided that it was safe go up another ten feet.

"Can you see anything?" Iceman called up to her.

Blaze scowled and ignored him. She couldn't see a thing -- the trees were too tall.

Blaze shook her head and flew upwards until she was reached the top of the maple tree. "Oh, wow," she said, looking around the enormous forest. She could see everything from where she was.

Including the fact that almost none of her teammates had made it past the obstacle course. Not that it mattered, really, since Jean was standing guard for the other team. She could just levitate them away from the flag.

"Great," Blaze muttered, shaking her head.

Then she saw it -- a narrow shaft of red light that took off the branch of a nearby tree.

"Iceman, head ups!" Blaze called down to her teammate. "Cyclops --"

Then she was cut off as someone grabbed her from behind. "Ah, damn it!" she cried, flapping her wings spasmodically as her vision was suddenly clouded by a puff of black smoke.

"Ah, Kiara!" someone said. "Calm down -- it's me!"

Before Blaze could really process what was happening, she was on the ground with Nightcrawler beside her. "Sneak attack," he muttered, rubbing his head. "Not such a good idea."

"You think?" Blaze said, scowling at him.

"You were the one who starting freaking out," Nightcrawler said, looking at her. "You should have known it was me. I mean, who else could grab hold of you in the mid-air -- the smoke should have been a dead give away."

"Yeah, well," Blaze said. "Unfortunately, I figured that one about five seconds too --"

"Watch it!" Iceman shouted at her.

He pushed her pushed her aside and shot a thin stream of ice out of his hand, freezing a buzz saw blade in mid-air and only inches away from the exact spot where her face had been seconds earlier.

"Kiara," Nightcrawler said, teleporting over to the spot where his girlfriend now lay. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Blaze said, sitting up. Then her eyes landed on the buzz saw. "Damn."

"Yeah," Iceman said, laughing as he walked over to her. "And the entire time we were out here, you thought I was the one you should be afraid. Wolverine went a little nuts with the obstacle course this time, huh?"

"Yeah," Blaze said, still on unable to take her eyes off the object that had almost decapitated her. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Hey, you guys -- we win!"

The three of them looked up to see Cyclops waving to them, flag in hand.


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

43

Three days passed quietly.

Nick Crenshaw remained absent for two of those three days. When he did return to school, he was forced by Principal Kelly to apologize to Kiara, which she accepted much to Kurt's disapproval.

Now, it was past midnight and Quicksilver stood silently outside the front gates of the Xavier Institute.

Logan stood in the kitchen, scowling out the window at the grounds of the mansion. Something was out there. He didn't know what, but something was definitely out there.

Then Logan's entire body stiffened as he felt a faint breeze blow past him. He reached out and pressed the tiny red button on the wall.

Kiara sat bolt upright in bed as the sound of sirens blaring woke her out of a dead sleep.

"Suit up," Rogue said, tossing her uniform to her. "Now."

"What's going on?" Kiara asked her as she pulled on her uniform.

"There's something in the mansion," Rogue said simply.

"Like what?" Kiara asked.

"Like something that isn't supposed to be here," Rogue told her.

Quicksilver raced silently past the students and teachers of the Xavier Institute as siren lights danced across the walls.

He knew that his best chance on getting information on Blaze would be at the Cerebro unit, but there was no way he was going to get there in time. That thing was under lock and key by now. Not that it mattered, though. He didn't know how to use the damn thing anyway.

So he would go for medical records then.

Quicksilver ran inside Beast's empty lab and skidded into a halt in front of a filing cabinet in the corner of the room. He pulled it open and searched through it. Luckily for him, everything was alphabetized so it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. He flipped through the pages in the manila folder silently, his eyes widening as he did so.

Then his body tensed as he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

Quicksilver raced out of the room and went directly to the one other place where he was sure he would be able to find information on Blaze -- Professor Xavier's study. And he was right.

In fact, he hit the jackpot.

"Look at this," Pietro said, throwing Kiara Blaze's medical records on the coffee table that stood in the center of the Brotherhood's disgusting living room.

"Holy crap," Toad said, picking up a photograph that had fallen out of the folder. "She looks like Godzilla's ugly step-sister."

"I know, right?" Pietro said, laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Lance said, taking the photograph from Toad. His eyes widened as he took in Blaze's scaly body and he handed the photograph to Blob.

"She's got wings?" Blob asked, looking up at the others.

"Yeah," Pietro said. "But that's not all. If you keep going through that medical stuff, you'll find out that she can be hurt by water and she was a victim --" he made air quotes around the word victim " -- of sexual abuse and she doesn't even know it."

"What?" Lance said, looking up at him in disbelief.

"Yeah," Pietro said, smiling as he through another folder on the table. "As it turns out, little Miss Blaze was quite the daddy's girl before she came to the Xavier Institute. The only thing is, she was so messed up because of it that they had to suppress her memories."

"Damn," Toad said.

Lance remained silent as he pulled a newspaper article out of one of the folders. Well, it was actually the rough draft of an article that was supposed to have been run in the L.A. Times. Professor Xavier had paid the author ten thousand dollars to keep it from being printed. The headline read "Small Town Citizens Cover for Child Rapist?"

"Holy shit," Lance muttered, reading the article.

"I know, right?" Pietro said, laughing as he watched Lance read. "That thing says that people from her hometown covered for her dad for ten years. Apparently, most of them suspected that Kiara was being abused because her dad is a sex offender and all, but they never did anything about it. I should go thank them."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lance said, scowling.

"I'm talking about bringing down the X-Men," Pietro told him. "Look, this Blaze chick can fly and breathe fire. She could burn this whole place to the ground in a second -- with us in it. She's like their new secret weapon. Or was, anyway."

"Well, how do you figure?" Toad said. "I mean, I thought she wasn't even properly trained yet."

"She's not," Pietro said, "but the girl's a loose cannon. Apparently, half of the people over there are scared to death of her, so all we've got to do is tell her about the deep, dark secret her so-called friends have been keeping from her and she'll running coming over here, screaming to join our side. We'll be able to take the X-Men down in a second."

"Wait a minute," Lance said, frowning. "I thought we were going after the MRD. Not the X-Men."

"What, are you nuts?" Pietro said, looking at him. "Look, it's only a matter of time until the X-Men find out "Project Sentinel" and all that. Do you really think they would let my dad risk starting a war with humanity?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lance said. "You never said anything about a war. Or taking down the X-Men. You said we were going to take down the MRD."

"And we are," Pietro said. "But the thing is, if the X-Men get there first then my dad will never have to chance to prove to those morons that he's right and they're all wrong. That's why we've got to take them out before the Trask is able to go nuts with his little Sentinel thing."

"So," Toad said, "we're going to try and, like, kill the X-Men."

"Trash the mansion, force them to join our side, and kill all those who refuse," Pietro said, smiling at him. "So, yeah, that's about."

"You're freaking kidding me, right?!" Lance said, getting to his feet. "You want to _kill _the X-Men just so your dad can prove a point?!"

"Well, that's part of it," Pietro said, nodding, "but it's also about taking out the real enemies -- the humans."

Lance stared at him for a moment, stunned. "What?" he said. "No, that's fucked up. This whole thing was supposed to be about protecting innocent mutants. Not letting them die just so your dad could gloat about it afterwards."

"Who said anything about gloating?" Pietro said, scowling at him. "He's going to be busy running an army. Man, what is with you -- you're starting to sound like you'd rather be an X-Man."

"Well," Lance said, "at least they care about what's actually right. At least they're not all about killing people."

"Since when do you care about doing the right thing?" Pietro said. "You lie, you steal, you cheat on your finals --"

"No," Lance said. "I do what I need to do to make my life easier, but this is where I draw the line."

"What are you saying?" Pietro said, scowling.

"What I'm saying," Lance told him, "is that I'm not going to let you play head-games with a goddamn rape victim just so you can try to kill my girlfriend. I'm out of here. Tonight."

He snatched the folders off of the coffee and stomped upstairs to gather his things, causing the house to shake violently as he did so.


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

44

The X-Men stood on the front lawn, silently searching the darkness for their unwanted visitor.

"I don't get it, Logan," Cyclops said. "I thought you said that there was someone out here."

"There was," Wolverine said simply.

"Well, whoever it was," Jean said, "they're gone now. I wonder what they wanted."

"I think we're about to find out," Rogue said, pointing down the front drive.

They looked up to see Lance Alvers standing silently behind the front gates, holding a duffel bag.

"Lance?" Shadowcat said. She ran down the drive and pushed the button that opened and unlocked the front gates. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Professor Xavier right now," Lance told her. Then his eyes fell on Blaze. "And unless you want a very big house fire on your hands, I suggest you get the dragon lady out of here."

Lance sat in Professor Xavier's study along with the professor, Beast, Ororo, Logan, Scott, and Jean.

"So let me get this straight," Logan said. "You've come here to tell us that the MRD has been building mutant-hunting robots and Magneto plans on taking them all out with an army of mutants?"

"Well," Lance said. "That was supposed to be the plan, but, apparently, Magneto's lost his mind and decided to change his plans a bit."

"Well, how so?" Jean asked him.

Lance sighed and shook his head. "I was told that we were going to take down the MRD before this whole Sentinel thing got out of hand," he told them. "But, now, Magneto plans on coming here and trying bring you guys down. Then he wants to let Trask go ahead and release the Sentinels just so he can say I told you so and start a goddamn war."

"Wait a minute," Logan said. "Did you say Trask -- as in General Trask?"

"Yeah," Lance said, looking at from him. "From what I've heard, he heads up the MRD and he's also the psycho who are started all this crap. Why -- do you know him?"

"No," Logan said, "but I've heard of him. The guy's supposed to be a real hardcore Nazi when it comes to mutants."

"That sounds about right," Lance said, nodding.

"Hold on, hold on," Scott said. "Let's backtrack a second, okay? Now, what was all that about Magneto trying to bring down the X-Men?"

"Yeah," Jean said. "I mean, what is he planning -- and how do you guys know all this stuff, anyway?"

"Well," Lance said, looking at her. "There was this MRD scientist called Diane Joseph or something like that. Mystique took her out and impersonated her for a while. Then she got rid of Trask's right-hand man, and started impersonating him. As for taking you guys out…" He sighed and his voice trailed off.

"What?" Jean said. "What is it?"

Lance picked his duffel bag up off the floor and reached inside of it. He pulled out two manila folders and threw them down on the professor's desk.

"Are those --" Beast said.

"The files you guys have been keeping on Kiara Blaze?" Lance said, looking at him. "Yeah. Pietro broke in here and stole them a little while ago under his father's orders."

"Well, what does Kiara have do with any of this?" Scott asked.

"Pietro plans on her telling her the truth," Professor Xavier said from his spot by the window. "About everything."

"Yeah, that's right," Lance said. "He wants to see if he can turn her against you guys and get her to switch sides."

"Do you have any idea when all of this is supposed to take place?" Logan asked him.

"The Sentinels are being launched on October fifteenth," Lance told him, "but I don't know about the attack on you guys or when Pietro plans on talking to Kiara. I just got the hell out of there once he finally decided to us what was really going on. It's like I told him, I've done some pretty stupid stuff, but what Magneto is planning is beyond messed up and I don't want any part of it."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Thank you," Professor Xavier said, turning to face Lance. "For telling us all of this before it was too late." He turned to Scott and Jean. "Show Lance to his room, please."

"Yes, professor," Jean said.

Lance grabbed his bag silently and followed Scott and Jean out of the room.

"So," Logan said, "what's the plan?"

"The plan is to alert the students of Magneto's plans," Professor Xavier said, looking at him, "and to find out if as much as we can about these Sentinels."

"Alright," Logan said, "but what about Kiara?"

"I'm not sure," Professor Xavier said, "but I'm starting to think that suppressing her memories may have been a bad idea."

"Professor Xavier," Beast said, "you can't possibly be thinking --"

"Did you really think she would never find out?" Professor Xavier said without looking at him. "Even the strongest of mental barriers can be broken, after all, and I'm not sure how much time we have until my own will be broken."

"What do you mean?" Ororo asked him.

"Kiara's nightmares have been getting worse," Professor Xavier said. "Her relationship with Kurt has been triggering them and they've started to transform into memories. Flashbacks. Brief glimpses of her past."

"And does she know that these aren't normal nightmares?" Logan asked.

"No," Professor Xavier said. "She hasn't realized it yet. She will, though, eventually."

"So should we tell her?" Logan said. "Or should we let her find out on her own?"

"We'll let Kurt decide," Professor Xavier said. "He knows her better than any of us. He'll know what's best for her."

"The elf?" Logan said with raised eyebrows. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I mean, he's just a kid, Charles."

"He is also her soul mate, Logan," Professor Xavier told him. "For now, however, gather the students in the foyer."

"Right," Logan said, "and I'm going to go put a call through to Fury."

"Nick Fury?" Beast said. "What for -- what could he do?"

"He's the head of SHIELD, remember?" Logan said. "If anyone can will able to tell us about this "Project Sentinel", it's him. Trust me."


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

45

Magneto stood in his fortress silently. All around him, his soldiers were preparing for the upcoming battles against the X-Men and the MRD.

"Magneto," Mystique said as she approached him. "I have news from Pietro."

"What is it?" Magneto asked, looking at her.

"Avalanche has joined the X-Men," Mystique told him. "He's told of them our plans."

"And the girl?" Magneto said. "What do we know about her beloved father?"

"We know her secrets," Mystique said. "Including the ones she doesn't even know about."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Magneto asked her.

"The X-Men have been keeping her past from her," Mystique said. "For her own good, apparently, but I doubt she'll be happy when she finds out about it. What are we going to do about the X-Men, though -- they're bound to be planning their own attack against the MRD by now. If they get there first, all of our plans will be ruined."

"Well, I'm aware of this, Mystique," Magneto said. "That's why, in one week, we attack the X-Men."

"I'll alert Pietro of the plan," Mystique said as she started to walk away from him.

Kurt entered Professor Xavier's study, feeling confused.

The students had been pulled out of school and training sessions had been doubled ever since they had been alerted of Magneto's alleged attacks on the X-Men and the MRD. Several of the younger students and Gambit had been recruited as members of the senior squad and Ororo had been sent out to locate to her nephew Evan Daniels, who was supposedly residing underground with the Morlocks. Scott and Jean were leading the members of the junior squad -- Kiara included -- in advanced Danger Room sessions to help them prepare for battle, while Logan was putting the other members of the senior squad through even more rigorous training sessions. There were even rumors that the head of SHIELD Nick Fury was on his way to the mansion.

So what could the professor want to talk to Kurt about that was more important than his training?

"You wanted to see me, professor?" Kurt said, closing the door of the study behind him.

"Yes, Kurt," Professor Xavier said. "I have some very distressing news for you, so I think you should have a seat."

"Why?" Kurt said, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the professor's desk. "What's going on?"

"It would seem," Professor Xavier said, "that Magneto and the Brotherhood now know about Kiara's past."

"Wait," Kurt said, shaking his head, confused. "What about her do they know, exactly?"

"Everything," Professor Xavier said simply. "They know her strengths, her weaknesses. They know that her father used to rape her and they plan on using that information to turn her against us."

Kurt sat silently for a moment as realization as dawned on him. "That's part of the reason why you pulled us out of school, isn't it?" he asked the professor.

"Yes, it is," Professor Xavier said, nodding. "You see, Pietro plans on telling Kiara the truth, but I couldn't pull her out of school without it seeming suspicious."

"But now that he knows and the Brotherhood knows and Magneto knows," Kurt said, "there's still a chance that someone could tell her."

"I am afraid there is a very good chance, Kurt," Professor Xavier told him.

"I don't believe this," Kurt said, running his hands through his hair. "After all that we've done to keep Kiara from knowing the truth, there's a still chance that she could find out about her past? How could this have happened -- I mean, really, how?"

Professor Xavier sighed and shook his head. "I know you're upset enough as it is, Kurt," he said, "but I'm afraid it gets worse."

"Worse?" Kurt said, looking up at him. "I really don't see how it could much worse than this, professor."

"Well, it does," Professor Xavier said. "You see, Kiara's nightmares about being raped have been getting worse and your relationship with her has been causing them to progress into flashbacks. So whether or not someone else tells her the truth, it does not matter. It's only a matter of time until she figures it out on her own."

"I don't believe this," Kurt said, covering his face with his hands.

The two of them sat silently for a moment. Then Kurt stood up and started to leave the room.

"She loves you, Kurt," Professor Xavier said, causing him to pause halfway across the room. "She will forgive you."

"I hope so, professor," Kurt said. "I really do."

Then he left.


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men. **

**46**

"**Hey," Blaze said to Kurt when she met him outside of the Danger Room. **

"**Hey," Kurt said. "Are you alright -- how was your first real Danger Room session?"**

"**Brutal," Blaze said simply. "Not fun."**

"**They never are," Kurt told her, smiling weakly. "Come on. You need to go get changed."**

"**What for?" Blaze said, confused. "I've got another training session in, like, half an hour. What's the point of changing?"**

"**You don't have anymore training sessions," Kurt said. "Not today. So come on -- let's go. We need to talk."**

**Blaze frowned and nodded. Kurt may have been her first boyfriend, but she had seen enough to movies to know that it was a never good thing to hear those words. They usually meant that the relationship was dead. **

**Kurt teleported them back to her bedroom. Then he grabbed her by her arm when she tried to turn away from him. "Wear something nice," he told her.**

**Blaze nodded silently. Then she went inside to get changed.**

**Kurt sank to the floor silently. He had no idea how he was going to tell her the truth. He had no idea how he was going to make her forgive him.**

"**Kurt?"**

**Kurt looked up to see Kiara standing over him, wearing a black dress. He smiled at her. She was so beautiful and the dress pretty much suited the situation. It was over. She was never going to trust him again.**

**Kurt stood up and held her hand, and he could feel his heart shattering inside his chest as he did so. **

"**Where are we going?" Kiara asked him.**

"**I don't know," Kurt admitted to her. **

**So they wandered through the mansion and its grounds for what seemed like hours. Then, finally, after they had spent some time stumbling through the forest and they had reached a large, circular clearing, Kurt sat down and pulled Kiara to the ground with him. **

"**Kiara," Kurt said, taking a shaky breath as Kiara rested her head against his shoulder. "Professor Xavier says that you've been having nightmares about being raped." He was trying to sound calm, but the words weren't coming out right. They sounded choked -- broken.**

"**Is that what this about?" Kiara said, looking at him. "They're only nightmares, Kurt. It's no big deal."**

"**What if they weren't just nightmares, Kiara?" Kurt asked her. "What if they were real?"**

"**What do you mean -- like if I was being raped in my sleep?" Kiara said, smiling. "Like **_**A Nightmare On Elm St. **_**or some shit like that?"**

"**Kiara," Kurt said. "You know I don't like it when you talk like that."**

"**I'm sorry," Kiara said, her smile fading.**

"**It's alright," Kurt said. "Now, please, try to be serious about this."**

**Kiara nodded.**

**Kurt hesitated for a moment. Then he said, "In your nightmares, do you know who's raping you -- have you ever seen his face?"**

**Kiara stared at him for a moment. Then she jumped to her feet, but Kurt stood up and grabbed her before she had a chance to go anywhere. "It was your father, wasn't it?" he asked her. **

"**Kurt, what's going on?!" Kiara demanded, breaking free of his grip. "Just, please, tell me what the hell is going on -- stop hesitating! Just tell me!"**

"**Kiara," Kurt said. "Your nightmares aren't nightmares. They're memories."**

**Kiara stared at him for a moment. "What?" she said. "No, no --"**

"**Your father was a sex offender, Kiara," Kurt said, grabbing her by her shoulders. "He went to jail before he married your mother. Then he spent ten years raping you after she died."**

**Kiara shook her head and then she was on the ground, sobbing hysterically. "No," she said. "No, it's not true. It's not true."**

"**It is true," Kurt said, sitting down beside her. "This isn't something I would make up. You know that."**

"**No, no, no," Kiara whispered, shaking her head as she covered ears with her hands.**

"**Your father was a horrible person," Kurt told her. "He spent years raping you, and when you first came to the Xavier Institute, you didn't were terrified of everyone. I was the only one you trusted and I convinced you to let the professor suppress your memories, so that you would be able to stay with us."**

**Kurt reached out and pulled her hands away from her ears, forcing her to listen to him. "Please," he said, "you have to understand. I did it because I love you. I always have."**

"**Don't touch me!" Kiara shouted, pulling away from him. "Don't you dare touch me!"**

"**Kiara --" Kurt said, reaching out to her. **

"**I said NO!" Kiara screamed at him.**

**Kurt ignored her and reached out to hold her, but she was screaming and thrashing wildly, pounding her fists on the ground. He tightened his hold on her, refusing to let her escape from him. He wasn't going to let her run away. He wasn't going to abandon her.**

**Not now because he knew Kiara well enough to know that this was the one thing she wouldn't be able cope with on her own.**

"**No," Kiara sobbed as she struggled to break free of his grip. "No, don't touch me. Don't touch me."**

"**I'm not going to let you go," Kurt said firmly. "I'm never going to let you go."**

"**I'm dirty," Kiara sobbed, shaking her head. "I'm dirty -- I'm filthy. Please, I need to die, Kurt. Please, I have to die. I have to…" Her voice trailed off.**

**As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kurt teleported so that he was on the ground, sitting in front of her, holding her by her shoulders. "Never say that," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Never."**

"**I'm dirty," Kiara whispered in a choked, raspy voice. "Kurt, please --"**

"_**Nein**_**, Kiara," Kurt said, pulling away from her and staring down into her eyes. "You aren't dirty. It isn't your fault that your father hurt you that way. You aren't dirty. **_**Sie sind schon**_**(1). **_**Ich liebe Sie**_**." **

"**No," Kiara said, shaking her head. "No, you can't love me. You can't love me."**

"**I do love you, Kiara," Kurt told her. "More than anything in the world. Let me prove it to you."**

"**Prove it to me?" Kiara asked him. "How?"**

"**By loving you the way you were supposed to be loved," Kurt said.**

"**What --?" Kiara said, looking up at him.**

"**Shh," Kurt said, pressing his finger against her lips.**

**The kiss started off soft at first, uncertain and confused. Then it grew stronger, more passionate. **

**Then Kurt paused after a few minutes. He reached out and took Kiara's hand in his own. He slid her image inducer off her wrist, and then he did the same with his own.**

"**Wait," Kiara said as he leaned in to kiss her. "Are you sure about this?"**

"**Do you love me?" Kurt asked her.**

"**Yes," Kiara said.**

"**Then I'm sure," Kurt said firmly. **

**He kissed her before she had to chance to respond. Then, before either of them could really process what was happening, he was top of Kiara -- making love to her. He kissed every part of her he could get to and caressed every inch of her scaly body as she ran her hands through his thick, coarse fur. **

**Then, when it was all over, Kurt held Kiara in his arms as she wept quietly. Her tears didn't disturb him. He knew that she was confused about what had just taken place between them. He was, too, but he also knew that they were both happy and neither of them regretted what they had done. That was all that mattered. **

"**I love you," Kiara whispered to him after a very long time. "More than anything in the world, I love you and I'm sorry."**

"**I love you, too," Kurt whispered back to her, "but you don't need to apologize. You just have to understand that what happened to you is not your fault, and I'm never going to leave you because of it. I know that you need time heal, and I'm going to help you through that process in any way I can because I love you so much. You know that, don't you?"**

"**Yes, I know," Kiara said.**

"**Good," Kurt said, and he kissed her on top of her head.**

**The two of them lay silently together for hours, and Kurt refused to let to go of her. Then, long after the sun had set, and Kurt was certain that Kiara had fallen asleep, he teleported her back to her bedroom. **

**He lay Kiara down in her bed silently and kissed her on her forehead.**

"**Kurt?" Kiara said as he turned away from her.**

**Kurt turned back to her. "I'm sorry," he said, smiling. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." He picked her stuffed lemur up off the floor and handed it to her. Then he kissed her and left the room silently.**

**1) **_**Sie sind schon **_**- It's supposed to mean "You're beautiful" in German, but there are supposed to be two little dots above the letter O in the word "**_**schon**_**". My computer wouldn't do it, though, so I'm really hoping it doesn't mean something bad or disrespectful. So if anyone does know what it means, I would really appreciate if you'd tell that way I'd know if I should edit this chapter or not. Thanks. **


	47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

47

The next day, the students stood silently on the front lawn of the Xavier Institute as a SHIELD helijet touched down in front of them.

"Who is that?" Kiara asked Kurt as a tall, black man wearing an eye patch stepped out of the helijet.

"That's Nick Fury," Kurt told her. "He's the head of SHIELD, and a friend of Logan's."

Kiara nodded silently. She wasn't entirely sure what SHIELD was, but she knew that it had something to do with the government and that was about it.

"Logan," Fury said as he approached his old friend. "It's good to see you again."

"This isn't a social call, Fury," Logan said, scowling as he shook the man's hand. "We've got a problem. A big one."

"I see," Fury said. "Well, whatever it is, I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Good," Logan said, "because we're going to need it."

Professor Xavier, Logan, Beast, Scott, Jean, Warren, and Nick Fury all sat inside the professor's study.

"Now, then," Fury said, "what seems to be the problem?"

"There are two actually," Professor Xavier said, "but there's only one who you can help us with."

"What is it?" Fury asked him. "What's going on?"

"I'm assuming," Professor Xavier said, "that you are familiar with a man called Erik Lensherr?"

"Of course I'm familiar with him," Fury said. "He calls himself Magneto -- the Master of Magnetism. He's also a wanted fugitive terrorist in all fifty states and Puerto Rico. Why, what's he done this time?"

"It isn't what he's done," Professor Xavier said. "It's what he's planning to do. You see, Magneto is planning to attack both the X-Men and the MRD."

"Why would Magneto want go against the MRD?" Fury asked him.

"Are you familiar with wack-job called General Trask?" Logan asked him.

"Yeah," Fury said, looking at him. "He's the head of the MRD. I've heard of him."

"Well," Logan said, "then you've probably also heard of a little thing called "Project Sentinel", haven't you?"

Fury sighed and looked away from him. "Everyone involved in the government or military has of it," he said. "Or rumors about it, anyway."

"Rumors?" Jean said. "Does that mean it's not real?"

"Oh, it's real alright," Fury said, laughing humorlessly, "but unless you work for the MRD, then you aren't going to find out a damn thing about it. It's supposed to be very controversial. How'd you guys hear of it?"

"A boy by the name of Lance Alvers used to be involved in group of teenagers that work for Magneto," Professor Xavier said. "The group is led by a woman who calls herself Mystique. She works as an agent for Magneto, and when she is away Magneto's son Pietro is in charge. It was Lance's belief that Magneto planned to take down the MRD before General Trask had a chance to launch "Project Sentinel", but when he found out what Magneto was really planning, he came to us and decided to join the X-Men."

"Wait," Fury said, frowning. "What is Magneto _really _planning?"

"Well," Logan said. "If what Lance says is true, then Trask has been building giant robots called Sentinels that are designed to hunt and take down mutants."

"All mutants?" Fury said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, all mutants," Logan said, "and their attack on the mutant community is said to begin on October fifteenth."

"Magneto plans to allow the Sentinels to launched," Professor Xavier said. "So that his coming war against humanity will be justified."

"Well, it doesn't matter if the Sentinels are launched or not," Fury said. "If the public finds out about this, there'll be a war either way."

"Yeah, we know," Logan said, "which is exactly why we need to get to the MRD before that happens or before the Sentinels can launched."

"So Magneto isn't the only one planning an attack against the MRD," Fury said, scowling.

"What would you have us do, Mr. Fury?" Professor Xavier said. "Stand by and watch as innocent mutants are destroyed by the creations of a madman?"

"Of course not," Fury said. "You have my full support on this matter, but the U.S. government will not feel the same way."

"So there's nothing you can do to help us?" Logan asked him.

"If I could help you, I would," Fury said, "but there's no way I'm going to get permission to bring in Trask and his agents when all I've got to go on is a theory. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Logan said. "We'll figure something out. We are the X-Men, after all. We've done harder things before now."

Fury sighed and stood up. "Look," he said, "I'm going to try my best to see what I can do to help you guys stop this, but I'm not sure I'm going be able to do much. If anything at all."

"Yeah," Logan said. "Thanks, Fury. We appreciate it."

"No problem, Logan," Fury said and then he left.

"Well," Logan said once he was gone. "That was a --"

"We have a guest," Professor Xavier said.

Kiara stood silently in the foyer as she stared at the black boy with the blonde hair and strange, bone-white plates growing on him.

"Come on," Kurt said, guiding her over to the boy.

"Hey, Kurt," the boy greeted him. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too," Kurt said as he pushed the past the other students who had crowded around the boy. "This is Kiara Blaze."

"Yeah, I've heard of you," the boy said to Kiara. "Some of the others have you seen with your image inducer on from down below. My name is Evan Daniels."

"Did you know?" Kiara asked him. "Did you know about my father?"

"Your father?" Evan said, his smile fading. He turned to Kurt. "What is she talking about?"

"My father raped me," Kiara said before Kurt had a chance to respond. "Didn't you know -- everyone here knew. Everyone."

The room fell silent as she turned and started to walk up the grand staircase.

"Kiara --" Kurt said, running after her.

"My father raped me," Kiara said again, louder this time.

"Kiara," Kurt said, spinning her around to face him. "Remember last night -- don't you remember what we talked about?"

"I hate him, Kurt," Kiara said as she sank to the floor and tears streamed down her cheeks. "I hate him. I mean, why would he do that to me -- what kind of sick bastard does that to his own child?! To anyone -- what kind of person does that?!"

Kurt knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. "Calm down," he whispered to her. "It's alright. He's gone. He can never hurt you again. Never."

"I hate him," Kiara sobbed into his chest.

"It's alright," Kurt said, and kissed her on top of her head. Then he realized that they weren't alone, and teleported them both back to Kiara's bedroom.

"Is she going to be alright?" Evan asked the crowd in the foyer once they were gone.

"All wounds heal in time. Some not as quickly as others, however."

Evan looked up to see Professor Xavier, wheeling himself towards him.

"Is it true?" Evan asked him. "What she said about her dad -- did he really --?" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Kiara's life has not been nearly as pleasant as all of ours," Professor Xavier told him. "We had to suppress her memories when she first came here, and Magneto planned on using that against us. So, now, she knows the truth about her father and her past."

"Damn," Evan muttered.

Later that evening, all of the X-Men gathered in the kitchen.

"Okay," Logan said. "Look, you all know that the head SHIELD Nick Fury was here earlier, and even though he said he's going to do all he can to help us, that was pretty much a bust. So, in six days, we're going hit the MRD hard."

"Six days?" Jean said. "Don't you think that's a little soon?"

"We've got to put an end to this Sentinel thing before it gets out of hand," Logan said, looking at her. "So it may not be soon enough." He turned back to the others. "Now, listen, this is a dangerous mission and an important one. That's why only the most experienced members of the senior squad are going to D.C. But since we don't know when Magneto plans on attacking us, we need volunteers to stay behind to guard the mansion and watch out for the others."

"I go where Kitty goes," Lance said at once.

"That's fine," Logan said, looking at him. "I don't have a problem with bringing that whole damn place to the ground."

"But I do," Professor Xavier told him. "We're trying to avoid a war, Logan. So our mission is to gather as much information as we can about "Project Sentinel", and shut down the computer called Master Mold. This will prevent the MRD from launching the most dangerous of Sentinels, and it will help to put Trask behind bars."

"You'll need me, then," Forge said. "I can hack into a computer and make it crash faster than anyone else in here."

"We're going to do way more than make that thing crash," Logan said, "which means we're going to need a quick way to get in and out of that place." He turned to Kurt. "You're with us, and so is Kitty."

"I can't leave Kiara behind," Kurt said, scowling at him from his place in the corner of the room beside Kiara. "Not when she's like this."

"I'll be fine, Kurt," Kiara said as tears streamed down her cheeks. She hadn't stopped crying since Evan had arrived.

"Kiara --" Kurt said, looking at her.

"This is important than me, Kurt," Kiara told him firmly. "It's important than all of us. You have to go."

Kurt stared at her uncertainly for a moment. "Alright," he said. "If you're sure."

Kiara looked away from him silently and did not answer. She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

In the end, it was decided that Kurt, Kitty, Logan, Lance, Forge, Scott, Jean, Beast, and Professor Xavier would go to the MRD headquarters in D.C. Everyone else would stay behind to guard the mansion in case Magneto turned up.

Kiara stayed seated in the kitchen long after the others had left, and Kurt would have stayed with her, but he had a Danger Room session to run with the other members of the senior squad.

"Hey, kid."

Kiara looked up to see Logan standing in the doorway. "Don't you have a Danger Room session to run?" she asked him.

"I got Storm to cover for me," Logan said, sitting down at the table. "Are you alright?"

Kiara smiled weakly at the stupidity of the question. "I thought my father was a good person," she said, putting her head down on the table, "but I remember everything now. And I hate him."

"You have a good reason to," Logan said. "Your father had no right to do what he did to you. I'd kill myself, if he weren't already dead."

"Why?" Kiara said, standing up and scowling at him. "Why did you let me think my father was a good person -- why did you all lie to me?!"

"You need to calm down, Kiara," Logan said, standing up. "Just calm down --"

"Don't you tell me what to do!" Kiara shouted at him. "You were all supposed to be my friends and you let me think that that sick freak loved me! Why would you do --?!"

Her words were cut off as a pale hand reached out and grabbed her from behind.

Rogue caught Kiara quickly before she hit the floor. "Are you alright?" she said, looking up at Logan.

"It was a mistake to suppress her memories," Logan said without looking at her. "We should have told her the truth from the beginning. She might have let us help her back then, but, now, I'm not so sure." He turned and pushed past Gambit who was standing in the doorway of the room beside Rogue.

"Help me get her up to the room," Rogue said to Gambit.

"Sure, _cher_," Gambit said as he knelt down and picked Kiara up out of Rogue's arms.


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

48

Six days past quickly, but not quietly.

Kiara poured herself recklessly into her training, and was injured often because of it. Kurt spent every free moment he had with her, apologizing to the others when she lashed out at them and holding her when she burst into tears for no apparent reason.

Then it was time for Kurt and the others to leave for D.C.

Kiara sat her room silently in front of a pile of shredded sketches she had done God-knows-when. She looked up when she heard the door open.

"I have to go now," Nightcrawler told her.

Kiara looked away from him and nodded silently.

Nightcrawler sighed and went over to her. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. "I hate seeing you like this," he whispered to her. Then he pulled away from her. "You know I love you, right?"

Kiara nodded without looking at him.

"And you love me?" Kurt asked her.

Kiara looked up at him. "Of course I do," she whispered to him. "More than anything."

"Good," Kurt said. "I'll be back by morning." Then he kissed her and left.

"Be safe," Kiara whispered to the dark, empty bedroom.

Magneto stood in front of his army of mutants with Mystique at his side. "Tonight," he shouted to them. "We begin phase one of our plan. Tonight, we take down the X-Men!"

The troops cheered wildly as the words left his mouth.

"Let us go forth," Magneto screamed, "and destroy them!"

He led his cheering troops into his great domed fortress. Once they were inside, the dome's support beams melted away. Then the whole place began to shake violently as the dome was transformed into a perfect sphere, which lifted off the ground and flew away from the island of Genosha.

"Alright," Cyclops said from the pilots' seat of the Blackbird. "We're coming up on the MRD headquarters now."

"Good," Wolverine said. He turned to Forge. "How long is going to take to hack into Master Mold?"

"It all depends on how advanced their so-called supercomputer is," Forge told him. "It could take a couple of minutes. Or it could take a couple of hours."

"Well, we don't have a couple of hours," Wolverine said as the jet landed. "We need this done now." He turned back to the others. "Let's go."

They all stood silently as Cyclops lowered the entrance ramp.

They walked down the ramp silently. Then before they had a chance to take another step, the sound of machine gun fire echoed throughout the darkness. Then it stopped.

"It's alright," Professor Xavier said. "They won't hurt us."

Two armed MRD agents, who appeared to be in a trance-like state, stepped out of the shadows of a nearby. They threw their weapons to the ground and approached them.

"In fact," Professor Xavier said, smiling. "They're to going to help us."

The two agents led the X-Men to the nearby building. Then they paused in front of the door.

"I've got it," Wolverine said, pushing past the two agents.

He extended his claws and cut an X in the door. The steel fell the floor noisily. Then as soon as the X-Men stepped over the threshold, the alarm sounded.

"Nightcrawler," Wolverine shouted over the noise as more armed agents came pouring into the hallway. "Get Forge out of here!"

Nightcrawler nodded and teleported Forge into a dark and, thankfully, empty room. They looked around the room silently. There were televisions everywhere.

"Whoa," Forge said, laughing. "The security observation room -- score. The guards must be on break or something."

"Never mind that," Nightcrawler said. "Can you shut down the alarms from here?"

"Easily," Forge said, sitting down in front of the monitors. He started typing away noisily, then he paused. "Hey, come look at this."

"What is it?" Nightcrawler said, approaching the computer.

"I think I just found out where they're keeping Master Mold," Forge said, smiling, pointing to a monitor.

Nightcrawler stared at the screen. Forge pushed a button and the camera moved in for a close-up of two steel doors with a sign stuck to one of them.

"What does that sign say?" Nightcrawler said, squinting at the screen.

"It says top secret," Forge said.

"Hurry," Nightcrawler said. "Find out where that room is."

"Got it," Forge said.

He resumed typing. "It's the northernmost corner of the building," he said after a few minutes.

Nightcrawler pulled out his communicator. "Logan," he said. "In the northernmost corner of the building there's a room with a sign on the door that says it's top secret."

"Got it," Wolverine said. "We'll meet you there."

Kiara sat in the darkness of her room silently. She wasn't sure how long and Kurt the others had been for. Hours, maybe. Or minutes.

Then she fell forward and hit the floor as a deafening crash shook the mansion. She ran out of her room and into the hall as alarms wailed and siren lights danced across the walls. "What's going on?" she asked, stopping Tabitha.

"The mansion's automatic defense systems have activated," Tabitha told her. "Something's outside."

"What?" Kiara said as Tabitha ran down the hall.

Kiara looked at the large bay window at the end of the hallway to see a large sheet of steel sliding down over it. Then she stood silently in the total darkness amidst the panicked students who crowded the hall.

Then there was a horrible creaking sound as the steel sheet was torn from the window, showering them all with glass.

"Oh, my god," Kiara muttered. "Magneto."

"X-Men," Storm's voice said over the intercom. "Suit up, now."

Kiara ran to her room and changed into her uniform as quickly as she could, but not before an explosion caused the floor to collapse beneath her.

"Son of a bitch," Blaze said, flapping her wings wildly.

She dived downwards and caught Jamie Maddox just before he hit the floor. "Are you alright?" she asked, setting him on his feet.

"Yeah," Jamie said, nodding. "I'll be alright."

"Good," Blaze said, nodding. Then she flew away.

Blaze hovered high above the chaos that was taking place below her. There were explosions left and right. Iceman was fighting another pyro, while Storm fought against a woman with blue skin.

Then suddenly Blaze's oxygen was cut off and her insides were crushed as she found herself being wrapped inside a steel tube. The tube crashed to the floor with her in it. Then she found herself looking at the man she knew was Magneto.

"You must be Blaze," Magneto said, smiling at her. "How kind of Charles you leave you all unprotected. Although my soldiers would have enjoyed the battled far more if the others were around."

Then Quicksilver appeared at his. "Hey there, daddy's girl," he said to Blaze. "How it's going?"

"You sick son of a --" Blaze hissed at him.

"Back off!"

Magneto flew high into the air and Quicksilver disappeared from sight as several bone-white spikes came flying towards them.

Then Spyke was standing above Blaze. He ejected another spike from his body and used it to pry open the steel tubing. "Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her to her feet.

"I'll be just fine," Blaze said. "Right after I kill that sick bastard."

"Not if I kill you first."

Blaze spun around and nearly collapsed when she saw who was standing in front of her.

"It's been such a long time since I last saw you, sweetie," her father said, smiling. "I barely even recognize you." Then he sent her flying with a round-house kick to the jaw.

Back at the MRD, the X-Men stood in front of the room with the sign that read "Top Secret" stuck to its doors.

Wolverine sliced the doors open and they all gasped collectively when they saw what was inside.

A supercomputer dominated most of the room, but beyond it was row after row enormous humanoid robots. There had to be thousands of them and more of them were coming off of an automated assembly line.

"Alright," Wolverine said. "Let's get this done now."

"Right," Nightcrawler said, nodding, and teleported Forge over to the supercomputer.

Forge pulled a flash drive out of his pocket and plugged it into the computer. Then he sat down in front of the computer and began typing quickly.

"What are you doing?" Nightcrawler said. "You're supposed to be crashing the thing, not --"

"I'm downloading the information we need to put Trask behind bars," Forge told him, typing away.

Wolverine turned back to the others. "You," he said, pointing to Avalanche. "Bring the ceiling down on those Sentinels. The rest of you watch out for guards. This place is huge. I'm not entirely sure if we're alone in here."

"Logan," Professor Xavier said as the room began to shake violently. "We're needed back at the mansion. Magneto has arrived."

"What?!" Wolverine said, looking at him. "What about the kids -- are they alright?!"

"They are holding their own against Magneto's army," Professor Xavier said, "but Kiara is not well."

"Damn it," Wolverine said. He ran over to Forge and Nightcrawler. "Do you have what we need?"

"Yeah," Forge said. "Just a sec." He unplugged the flash drive and pressed a button.

"Done?" Wolverine said as the computer sent sparks flying. "Good." He extended his claws and stabbed the machine.

Then they all looked up as great chunks of the ceiling came crashing down on the nearby Sentinels and the assembly line. At the exact same time the floor on the other side of the split open, creating an enormous and seemingly bottomless pit.

"We need to get out of here," Avalanche said as he ran over to Wolverine. "This whole room is going to cave and we need to be out of here when it does."

"Good thinking," Wolverine said. "Let's go. We're needed back at home."

"We're too late," Professor Xavier said, causing them all to look at him. "Magneto's already gone."

When the X-Men returned to the mansion, the place was in ruins. There was an enormous hole in the roof, the front doors had been torn from their hinges, there were chunks of wall missing, and all of the windows were shattered.

"Bobby!" Nightcrawler called to Iceman once the jet had landed and the entrance had been lowered. "Where's Kiara?"

"In what's left of her room," Iceman told him. "She's one of the few us who can still get upstairs."

"What do you mean?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Come on," Iceman said, sighing.

He led Nightcrawler into the mansion and they paused inside the foyer.

"The staircase collapsed," Iceman said, gesturing to what was left of the grand staircase. "So did most of the ceiling -- see?"

He pointed and from where they stood, they could see Blaze kneeling on a tiny piece of floorboard high above them.

Nightcrawler scowled.

"Hold on," Iceman said, grabbing him. "You're going me to want to bridge us up. There's really not much left up there to stand on."

Nightcrawler stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

Iceman shot a thin stream of ice out of his hands and created a long, winding bridge that led up to where Blaze was. Then he created a small platform for them stand on.

Nightcrawler walked over to his girlfriend, being careful not to slip on the ice. Then he wrapped his arms around her. "Kiara?" he said softly. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Blaze shook her head, but she was sobbing hysterically and Nightcrawler couldn't understand a word she was saying.

"What happened to her?" Nightcrawler said, looking at Iceman.

"If's there anyone who's good at playing head-games," Iceman said, "it's Mystique."

A/N

I'm sorry this chapter is so lame, but I really suck at writing actions scenes so....Yeah.

Just don't try to kill me when you get done reading the next couple of chapters.


	49. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

49

Thanks to donations made to the Institute by Warren's family, it only took one week to finish the repairs to the mansion.

General Trask was arrested for attempted terrorism against mutants and MRD was shut down until further notice due to illegal and unauthorized testing on the mutants they kept in their prisons.

All of Bayville suddenly knew about what Kiara's father had done to her and consoling sessions with both the school shrink and Professor Xavier were set up for her attend twice weekly. She never had the chance to the go to one.

It was a Monday, and Bobby Drake was running late for school. He ran down the grand staircase and skidded to a halt when he saw Kiara standing in foyer, carrying a book bag and a duffel bag that he knew for a fact belonged to Rogue.

"Hey," Bobby said, walking over to Kiara. "Aren't you supposed to be school?"

"Aren't you?" Kiara asked him.

"Yeah," Bobby said. "I'm running a little late today."

Kiara nodded and Bobby followed her out the front doors. "What's with the bags?" he asked her. "You aren't, like, leaving the Institute, are you?"

Kiara paused and turned to face him. "Yeah," she said, nodding. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, why?" Bobby said. "I mean, you know we only lied to you because we care about you and Kurt --"

"Look," Kiara said, sighing. "It doesn't have anything to do with my -- my dad or the lies or any of that. It's just that something bad happened, and it's something I have to take care of on my own."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby said. "We can help you -- we will help you. Whatever it is, you don't have to deal with it on your own -- and Kurt --"

"Stop it!" Kiara said. "Listen to me -- something bad happened. Something very, very bad and I love Kurt more than anything. I'm leaving so I don't end up screwing up his life, too, and don't ask me where I'm going to go because I don't yet. I haven't decided."

Bobby stared at her for a moment. Then he nodded and said, "Well, are you going to come back?"

"I don't know," Kiara said. "Just do me a favor." She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of paper. "Give this to Kurt, and tell him I love him."

Bobby took the paper from her and nodded silently.

Then he watched and as Kiara turned and walked away from him, down the drive, and through the front gates.

Once Kiara had disappeared from view, Bobby threw his bag on the ground and sat down on the front steps of the mansion. He stayed home from school that day and sat there for hours, waiting for Kurt.

"Bobby," Kurt said, jumping out of Scott's convertible. "Have you seen Kiara -- she came to school this morning, then she just disappeared and no one's seen her since. Do you know where she is?"

Bobby stood up and shook his head, sighing. "Kiara's gone, man," he told Kurt. "Long gone."

Kurt stared at him for a moment. "What do you mean, she's gone?" he asked. "Gone where -- where did she go?"

"I-I don't know," Bobby admitted. He looked away from Kurt, and turned his gaze to the others, who standing silently next to Scott's car, staring at them both. "She said that something bad had happened and she had handle it on her own, and she didn't know where she was going to go."

"What?" Kurt said. "And you just let her go -- you didn't try to stop her?!"

"I tried to talk her out of it," Bobby told him, "but she said had to go because something bad had happened. She didn't say what, though."

"Is the professor here?" Kurt said. "I have to talk to him."

"Wait, Kurt --" Bobby said as Kurt ran up the front steps of the mansion.

Bobby looked up when he heard the sound of car doors slamming. "Where are you guys going?" he asked the others.

"We're going to look for Kiara," Rogue said, scowling at him as Scott started the car. "Where else?"

Bobby and Kurt sat in Professor Xavier's study silently.

They both looked up when they heard the door open. The professor wheeled himself inside the room and Beast and Logan followed after him.

"Well?" Kurt said, standing up.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Professor Xavier said gravely, "but Kiara's been here long enough to know how Cerebro works. As long as she isn't using her powers, I can't find her. You know that."

"She's also managed to, somehow, disable the tracking devices in both her communicator and her image inducer," Beast said. "The others have checked everywhere -- all of Bayville, and they still can't find her. Storm's gone to speak with Evan and to distribute missing person flyers among the Morlocks."

"You really think that'll help?!" Logan asked irritably. "I'm one the best trackers in the world, and I couldn't find her. Her scent just disappears halfway up the road -- she must have taken off, flying. She could be anywhere by now." He turned to Bobby. "You were here all damn day -- why didn't you think to tell someone before now?!"

"She wanted to go to help Kurt," Bobby said without looking at him. "I think she was telling the truth. So I let her go."

Kurt scowled at him for a moment. Then he turned and stormed out of the room silently.

Kurt slammed his bedroom door behind him. Then he saw the folded up piece of a paper sitting on his bed. He walked over to his bed and picked up the piece of paper. He unfolded it.

It was a note from Kiara.

Kurt sank to the floor in front of his bed and read the note silently:

_Dear Kurt,_

_I'm so sorry for leaving you like this after all that you've done for me. But something really bad has happened, and I refuse to let you get involved right away. _

_Because I love you, and I don't want to ruin your life. _

_Please, forgive me, and try to remember that I'll always love you more than anything in the world. No matter what._

_Yours always,_

_Kiara Blaze._

_Ich liebe Sie._


	50. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men.

Epilogue

Ten months later in Berlin, Germany.

Father Viktor Krauste walked up the front steps of the orphanage silently. It had been two days since the owner of the orphanage Fräulein Gretchen had told him about the two mutants who were hiding out there.

Two days since Father Viktor had agreed to take them in.

Father Viktor knocked on the door silently. "Hello," he said to Fräulein Gretchen when she answered the door a few seconds later. "Where are they?"

"They're upstairs," Fräulein Gretchen said. "Come in, come in."

Father Viktor stepped over the threshold of the orphanage and the sound of children playing happily flooded his ears.

"Quiet down!" Fräulein Gretchen shouted to the children. "There are children sleeping upstairs."

Father Viktor followed Fräulein Gretchen up the carpeted stairs and down a long hallway. Then they entered a tiny room that was equipped with only a twin bed, a dresser, and a small crib.

Father Viktor stared at the mutant girl who sat on the floor silently. He took in her appearance -- the scales, the blood-red eyes, and the large, leathery, dragon-like wings.

"I thought you said she was normal-looking," Father Viktor said, looking at Fräulein Gretchen.

"Show him the trick your watch can do," Fräulein Gretchen told the girl.

The girl stood up and pressed a button on her bright red sports watch. Then suddenly she was almost normal-looking, and the only unusual thing about her that was visible were her wings.

"I have a harness for my wings," the girl said. "No one will be able to see them as long as I wear it."

Father Viktor frowned at her crude German. "What is your name?" he asked the girl.

"Kiara," the girl said simply.

"And where is the other mutant?" Father Viktor asked her.

"My daughter," Kiara said, wandering over to the crib in the corner of the room, "is here." She picked up a tiny bundle wrapped in a pink blanket, and held onto it carefully.

"Your daughter?" Father Viktor repeated.

"Yes," Kiara said, looking up at him. "Her father is a mutant who lives in America."

"I see," Father Viktor said, sighing. "Well, then, you and your daughter may come live with me. You will wear that watch and look normal at all times --"

"I can't wear it forever," Kiara said. "I'll outgrow it eventually. The hologram, I mean."

Father Viktor sighed. "I can accept that," he said. "You will work for me for food, shelter, and clothing. You will receive no pay and my wife will help to raise your daughter."

"That's fine," Kiara said, nodding.

"Good," Father Viktor said. "I'll give a moment to gather your things." He turned and started to leave the room. Then he paused and turned back to the girl. "Your daughter -- what do you call her?"

Kiara looked down and smiled at the tiny bundle in her arms. "Mischa Wagner," she whispered.

A/N

Alright that's the end of this chapter, but if you guys think you want know what happens to Kiara Blaze and Mischa Wagner next, then go ahead and click yes on the poll I've set up on my profile.

Thank you faithful readers. I hope you enjoyed the story.


End file.
